Hahahaha, yea its a little harder to get on plane with the t/m in the water, you get very wet also.

Check where the gas line clips into the motor it could be sucking air or leaking gas. My 200 black max same year did this last week. That is good that your doing a compression test because my black max blew a head in 2005 but I was up on plane that cost me back then $6900 to put new power head in. They told me it was a little plastic clip that keeps the oil injector working in the motor. Hope you find out what is the problem good luck.

A bad reed can do this

check to make sure all coil pack wiring harness are plugged in all the way. Mine was doing the same thing. Problem fixed. Guess after a while (older motors) they vibrate out.

Pull the propeller off and check the bushing inside the propeller that's my guess good luck

Okay, my two cents worth. Your Merc may a safety override for overheating. The engine will idle at low RPM's but when you attempt to plane out the engine will stall due to immediate overheating. Bad water pump/impeller. Check your temperature gauge or listen for the overheating alarm.

Does the engine sputter at around 1500 rpm? Do you have a hotfoot? If yes to these may be this. My 99 zx would do the same thing if I did not have the gear shift lever pushed all the way forward. If you push the lever only far enough to engage forward gear this will happen. There is a switch in the lever that controls the engine rpm max as shifting is done. Used to drive me nuts till a rep at Skeeeter tourney told me of this condition,after that never had another issue.

You really have to troubleshoot this stuff logically. Most of the responses could be the cause, or none of them! If you want to fix it yourself you really need the factory service manual (available online for a reasonable cost). As several have pointed out, it would be helpful to have an idea about the circumstances when you first noticed the problem.

Starting from scratch, a good first check would be to buy an inexpensive spark tester and make sure you have fire to each plug. If not, you know you have to work through ignition troubleshooting. You'll need a quality digital VOM with short-term voltage capture capability or "DVA tester" and the specs to do most of these tests. Potential trouble spots could be the ignition modules, sensors (throttle position sensor, head temp sensor, etc), or loose ground wires.

If spark is OK then check the fuel system (anti-syphon valve, if any, on the fuel tank, hoses, filters, pulse fuel pump diaphragms/check valves, carb cleanliness, etc.) If you have never overhauled the pulse fuel pump it's a good idea to do it. Even if the diaphragms don't have holes or tears they can become baggy and lose pumping capacity at high speeds. The parts kit is only about $20 and you can remove the pump and install the kit in minutes if you are at all handy. Carbs are pretty easy to clean and overhaul too.

If all of this is more than you can take on then pull out your wallet and take her to the shop!

Good luck!