Oh, the second part was just down to whether or not it's spinning up part of the transmission since the clutch is engaged. I don't know how this is set up yet, but I was wondering if it was placing any extra strain on the starter and battery. I've never actually thought about that until your post.
When I first read the thread, I wondered whether just shorting whatever switch it's using would do the job, but immediately figured that this car probably uses it for fifteen other functions. Thought I'd check your post to see how it operated. I'll go back down and find it.