Greg,
You are looking for the control rod thet runs up to the handle bars to turnon, and off the PTO right?
I see these come p on ebay once in a wile, and also you can still get them new also. There are a few places online to get new parts.
Looking to pick one up myself one of these days. Never was found of the "walk around, and kick the lever" proceedure you have to go through.