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On a vehicle I had, I messed and messed with the carburetor cause it would run better with the choke part way out or partial throttle. eventually, I found the coil was the problem. I'm guessing the choke would lower the compression and let the coil work. I would change the plugs and try a different coil. (just a thought)

Classic symptoms of fuel starvation. The pump is weak or the filters/strainer are plugged. They are unable to meet the increased fuel demand of uphill driving. Fuel pressure drops as you go uphill. For the hard starting,don`t forget to adjust the choke pull off

Sounds like a timing belt tensioner to me. If it goes away after it gets warm I would think it wasn't rod knock.

Make sure all of the bolts are removed. Use a long screwdriver or pry bar to move it off the block.

replace the wheel cylinder. Cheap and easy. Just put some penetrating oil on the wheel cyl bolts and hardline fitting before trying.

I agree with "don't buy cheap". I tried Gates and the belt broke 2 months after installing the complete kit on our 97 RHD EJ22. I was lucky, I had swapped the heads and Y-pipe for 95 heads and Y-pipe. The 95 heads have hydraulic lifters. Non-interference.

Yep. That's what I did. I pulled the fan relay box out of the main fuse block along with the wiring, and only used 2 relays to kick a single fan (5 blade fan appears to pull more so used that by itself) on at full speed if needed and can run dual or better fans down the road. Fan needs power to both relays on a single fan to get full speed, like it's paralleling the windings or something. Truck has 2.8L w/iron head, intake, and block and runs at 195 degrees stock. With just the single 5 blade fan zipped to the radiator INSIDE the stock shroud, the truck stays at 195. Pulled a 2k pound trailer with the 3k+ pound Legacy on it (figure 5k pounds at least) and the fan was enough to keep it at or around 200 degrees when the poor truck struggled on inclines from a stop (silly thing couldn't get over 25-30 mph until the road leveled). So, it seems to be a decent flowing fan and even better is they are virtually silent, even on the high speed.

when I did the service on my WRX, I was at about 8.5 years but under 70K miles. the toothed idler and another idler spun like like skate wheels, the toothed idler also wobbled slightly. There was oil on top of my tensioner. Belt looked surprisingly good. No signs of seeping oil from crank or cam seals. I left the waterpump but changed the belt ,tensioner and all idlers.

All USDM EJ cars the fan is controlled by the ECU. Old EA cars have an actual thermoswitch