Walk Behind Lawn Mowers

7021R Drive Problems....I recently purchased a Husqvarna 7021R mower and am somewhat unhappy with the self-propelled feature. I've used it 3 times since I got it and it just doesn't seem right to me. The drive seems to be very weak. When starting off, I need to press the lever and give the mower a push in order to get it rolling. On hills, the belt squeals and I need to assist it with a good push to get it moving. Once it's moving, it seems to be ok other than the belt does squeal a little. I did the cable adjustment as mentioned in the owners manual but that seemed to have little effect on it.

Bottom line....is this normal or is there an issue with this mower? It doesn't seem to me that I should have to push it to get it going. For almost $400 I would expect that I wouldn't have to treat it as a push mower.