THOM - Welcome to the forum too! Nice looking 982.
I well remember back in 1980 when the 982's were new, "Why on EARTH would anyone want a garden tractor THAT big?!?!". Then I lived on a 75 ft x 170 ft lot with a ranch style house. NOW I mow two acres.
I have no real problems with my 982, and the Onan runs O-K but not without issues, was completely rebuilt when I bought it, just the way Onan did things compared to Kohler is just WRONG. There's no way to accurately set ignition timing per ANY of the IH manuals, They say "Consult Your Dealer" and there's no timing marks anywhere; the ignition points are located in a stagnant airflow area in the engine, therefore get covered with oil, and they seem to slip out of adjustment, gap closes resulting in poor or no running, the engine governor on mine is "Lazy", a slowly increasing load will slow the engine down, but if I punch the throttle it speeds right up, a quick loading of the engine it will hold speed, fuel pump vacuum port on crankcase is almost impossible to reach, carb & intake manifolds are prone to leaks due to warpage. Parts are horribly expensive compared to Kohler & B&S.
I don't know what brand of engine will replace my Onan when it's needed, hopefully that won't be for a long time, but I know it won't be another Onan. I had a suggestion a year or so ago from the pullng forum here to investigate an older GENERAC engine. They're larger displacement than the Onan but same relative physical size, some are double the Onan's 48 CID. And Generac's home offices are located only 50 miles from me!