Ok, here's some findings thus far (the saw is still on the kitchen counter)
Overall, the unit seems flimsy. I think the clutch cover is going to be a common fail point on these units. While there are probably more metal parts on this saw than most pro saws, the plastics appear to be "cheapo" and not very robust. Overall, not favorably impressed. It reminds me of recent vintage Homelite stuff.
The bucking spike came loose as parts and I installed that. It's probably "adequate" but not too impressive.
The starter had something rattling around in it which is why I pulled it off. I found a brass flanged ring like Stihls have under the carb mount. Not sure where it was from but didn't belong there for sure. It has some type of easy start system in that you pull a lot of rope and then the saw kicks over one revolution. We'll see how that works in real life.
The bar tip sprocket seems rough when rotated by hand but it may just have paint or crud in it. The saw has an outboard clutch (which I really dislike) but does have a rim sprocket setup. The clutch spider seems tinny. Not sure how many removals it will endure. When I mounted the bar and adjusted the chain with the front adjuster screw (difficult to turn with the scrench) the chain doesn't seem to want to turn smoothly around the bar. I suspect that the rim/chain pitch is incorrect. Not sure how that would happen as I'm pretty sure they build this saw up one way.
The chain is a Stihl (not reduced kickback) and I think it's .325 pitch but the box wasn't marked. Since the rim size is concealed by the clutch drum, I'll have to turn the clutch off to see what pitch it is. It is a 7t.