Engine seems to run fine out of water. It will rev up, idle, ect. As soon as the prop hits the water it dies. After several attempts of restarting and putting it in the water it will eventually work the rest of the day. Motor has 35 hours on it. It just started doing this one day. no changes were made to motor or prop. Any ideas? So far I'm thinking maybe mercury switch? But I have no idea what this looks like.

Has the engine sat for a while? Possible partially blocked jet in carb. As it warms up it need less fuel to to run. Just one idea, could be several options but have to start somewhere

Dang I was hoping for more help on this.. Even the mud buddy guy up here doesn't want to mess with it. I was in the market for a 35 hp surface drive but seems a guy could be SOL if he wasn't a mechanic. I could probably figure most stuff out but I have full time job already