Nope. I found that you need to mesh it more tightly first and when the pinion and spurs run in after a while, then they run free and will not strip. Perhaps the engine needs to be slanted very slightly so that it does not interfere with the 2nd gear combo meshing. I could not notice it with my bare eyes but if you would use a caliper of some sort, you could probably tell that the engine is slightly slanted.

No worries. Is the track abrasive? If it's not, get the rollout chart and use a smaller tires to compensate using 17T. You did remember to bring that humongously big and "expensive" Hudy tire truer didn't you?