I've had trouble getting my 1984 245 started in extreme cold weather (roughly 0-5 degrees F).

Here's what happens:
Motor starts
Runs for about 5-10 seconds, kind of rough
Motor quits.
Motor will do nothing but crank, sound like it tries to catch every once in awhile, but never even comes close to turning over.

Today, when it did this, I pulled out all four plugs and took them into the house. Got them really warm and dry. Put them back in, and the engine started right up. Yes, it ran rough at first and I needed to give it a lot of gas to keep it going the first 10-20 seconds or so, but then it ran great. It started great every time after that once warm.

Meanwhile, my 1978 244 with K-Jet started right up and ran beautifully with just a touch to the key, in the same frigid temps.

Go figure.

Any ideas for how to make the 1984 act more like the 1978? (Other than moving back to California...)

BTW: plugs are Bosch Supers, less than a year old. Bought a set of Platinums to replace them with if they do this again tomorrow.