Being new, running in reverse will NOT clean the stuff that was inside the grate/impeller. it does not run the impeller in reverse, just diverts the water coming out of the jet into the reverse direction. it may be enough to knock the stuff loose that is on the grate, but i had mine full of seaweed, and reving the engine in reverse is only going to suck the stuff up more. Have to take it out of the water, pull everything you can out of the grate, possibly remove the grate if you can't remove it all. Could be that something went through the impeller and ruined the sleeve and the impeller blades also, tough to say without looking at it. Sand going through the impeller will eat away at the blades/sleeve enough to cause a loss in power and some vibrations because it opens up the close tolerance, thus losing the "seal" created by them being close and pushing all the water out. You'd notice a drop in top end speed if this was the case. The slipping gears is cavitation is my guess. They all do this. An aftermarket impeller will help fix this problem, and while changing that you may find the root of your intake problem also.
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