B.Zang ... I was like you and avoided using it for a long time, for all the same reasons. Anytime I tried using it, I found it to be so darned awkward, so I pretty much avoided. Then, finally, one time when I had some long stitching lines, I decided to "force" myself to do it. By the time I got through them, I was feeling comfortable with the stop-start button! And too, I learned that I could get it stopped at the right time, or if too early, then I just use the foot peddle for the next few stitches.
It's all about that old "mind over matter" mindset that we get ourselves in to!!
Had to go through the same "force myself" method when I got my first machine with a knee lift. Now, I would never want to be without it. No way!!
So B.Zang, Good Luck and get yourself into that "force" mode and you'll soon discover what a friend that stop-start button can be (at the right times!).