JD318-speed surging and starting problems plus synthetic oil use.

I just bought a 1987 John Deere D318 with a B43G engine and except for these 2-minor problems and a simple question, I've been happy with the decision so far.
Problem-1: Nothing happens when I try to start the unit now. I cannot even hear any starter solenoid clicks. I've charged the battery and cleaned the terminals without success. Then I swapped the battery with a known good one still without success. Where else should I look?
Problem-2. Before problem-1, the tractor speed would surge when mowing my lawn, regardless of whether I'm on a grade or on level ground. I would compensate by pushing or pulling the hydro speed lever but it got tiresome after awhile. Is this a simple fix?
As for the question, once I got the engine and the speed surge problems addressed and the tractor running again, could I use full synthetic oil with the correct grade on my next oil change instead of the regular oil and not have to worry about damaging or worse, ruining the engine? Thanks in advance to all for the help on my 2-problems and the insights on the synthetic oil use question.
Bob

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Re: JD318-speed surging and starting problems plus synthetic oil use. Dave Saturday, November 14, 2009 (0)
Re: JD318-speed surging and starting problems plus synthetic oil use. Dave Sunday, November 08, 2009 (1)

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