G14 stutters/surges/wont run

[TrimDawg]

Hi guys, this should be a piece of cake. LOL JK!
(inhales deeply)
So, I purchase said cart and everything runs fine* (starter would stick every now and then, no big deal). I finally think it's giving out on me and order a new one, the exact same one. I replace it. Turns out my battery needed replacing. Good news, golf cart is running like a boss. Until 1/2 a mile down the road when the starter starts smoking and dies (note: it made an unusual whining noise) . Made for a solid leg day pushing it home. The company is cool and replaces the starter for me. Awesome! Unfortunately, I have to leave for a month. I return and drop the new one in. It slowly backs out, struggling as it normally would bc at the time I was not choking it. I get to the bottom of the drive, flip it to forward and hit the gas. The thing starts to stutter at best and surges but wont go. I can reduce the surge by dropping back on the gas petal but its not enough power to make the cart move. I charge the battery thinking that maybe it had something to do with it. While the battery was low, it wasn't the culprit. Any assistance would be great! I apologize if the has been a thread elsewhere but I didn't see it in the 515 pages of archives.

Thanks in advance.
Josh