Well, I always said I liked to tinker and see how things work so I definitely bought the right bike... I adjusted the clutch to the point that it hits the friction point about 3/8" before being fully engaged. It made it much easier to smooth the acceleration out. My neighbor was out and came over to take a look and he said it feels like the cable is stretched out. Everyone says I should just call the dealer and tell them to replace it, but I really feel like I should be learning how to maintain it anyway so I'll spend $100 on the cable and replace it myself either later this fall or next spring. Unfortunately the fucking battery was dead when I got home. Luckily I bought a trickle charger years ago so I pulled it out and plugged it in. Battery was only showing as 10% full so I'm going to run that overnight. So far it's pretty typical of the ol' Doog luck but ultimately I think I'll be better off.
