Are you using that piece of wire to hold the auto choke open roebuck? Of course it should always be closed when the engine is not running, if it is working properly. It also provides acceleration enrichment even when the engine is warm, which is one of the reasons why the auto choke models are nicer to use than the manual choke versions. It does not interfere with hot restarts, of course, it just sucks open as soon as you pull the starter.
