Neal,
If the starter isn't giving enough oomph, you probably have an electrical problem. The first thing I would do is to make sure the generator frame is well bonded to the engine, the engine to the frame, and the negative battery cable to the frame as well. If this doesn't help, I'd pull the generator and clean up the commutator, and put in a new set of brushes if they are badly worn, and lubricate the bearings or bushings. If ya got it cranking good and it still is hard to get going, check the points again to make sure the gap is set to .020.
If she still is hard to start, try spraying some starting fluid into the carb throat while cranking and see if it makes a difference. If it does, then something in the carb is probably out of whack, perhaps the float is set too low, or a jet just got clogged up for some reason.
Your Neutral isn't misadjusted on the Hydro, causing it to load things down or anything like that is it?