Kohler Command Pro Ch395 - Log splitter will not start

I have a Countyline log splitter with a Kohler Command Pro Ch395 engine. I have had this for about 10 1/2 months. Started last week for the first time since the fall and it fired right up. Next day it fired right up. Once I shut it off, it will not restart. When I pull the starter cord it give one good pull then I feel tension and it is hard to pull. Spoke to the local Kohler dealer and they can't house a log splitter. They ask me to bring in the starter only but when I take the starter off there is no tension; it pulls and retracts without a problem. When I reinstall the starter there is tension in the pull cord and no start.
 
Help please. Thanks

Maybe the pulley is worn and moving from side to side on the post.

I think it's call the control valve--it's the level you pull to engage the wedge to split. It has a safety shutdown when pushed all the way back. Make sure it's not pushed back--just pull it to you then try to start the engine. That was my problem.

I also have a CountyLine log splitter with a Kohler CH395 engine. First time changing the oil and got a question on the proper oil level. There are two identical dipsticks on this engine, one facing forward and facing rearward. At first you’d think it’s a universal engine and you could use either one. But they are different levels. I thought maybe the engine wasn’t perfectly level so I shimmed the tongue on the log splitter and used a level under the base of the engine to make sure it was level. If I fill the sump until oil just runs out of the forward dipstick hole, the rear dipstick barely shows on the stick. Not sure what to make of this I measured the distance from the concrete floor to the bottom of both fill holes. The forward hole is 9-1/8 inches from the floor and the rear hole is 9-3/4 from the floor. So the rear dipstick/fill hole is 5/8 inch higher than the front hole. Which is correct? I’m inclined to go with the oil level filled just to the point where it runs out the lower of the two fill holes. Why the discrep in these two dipstick/fill levels? I want to make sure I have enough oil in it but don’t want to overfill it. Makes no sense to me, at least not yet.

Before I go out in the garage and crawl around where is the spec number located on the engine? There must be a serial number on it too, unless that’s part of the spec number. And thanks.

Spec is CH395-3149. Serial number is 5014302728.

There are two identical drain plugs, on opposing sides. Both drain plugs are a threaded bolt with an aluminum sealing washer under the head. If you are facing the recoil there’s one on the right and one on the left, right at the base of the block. There’s a fill/check port right above both drain plugs. Both of them are occupied by the little yellow plastic Kohler dipstick with the rubber sealing washer. The two dipsticks are identical. But the block appears to be cast such that one fill is higher than the other.
I noticed the manual says the crankcase should hold just over a quart of oil. I refilled it with just under a quart until it overflowed the left fill hole. Assuming the engines are correctly pre-filled when shipped I may stop by a Tractor Supply that has my model wood splitter in stock and check the oil.

Probably for limited clearance applications that require a dipstick.

According to the owners manual the refill amount should have been 1.16 US quarts (1.1 liters) and this should have put oil level on the dipstick to the mid range.