I accidentally left the choke valve filter to closed while running a gas generator for around an hour

To preface, my local area was effected by rolling blackout, so we bought a gas-powered generator. A few days ago, we bought a generator. A technician told me how to turn it on and off.

A few hours ago, we got hit with another blackout. I started the generator and left it for around an hour. However, I start to notice that there was a really foul smell, like a gas leak. It smells worse than it's supposed to be. I checked the generator and realized that the choke valve is in the closed position. I quickly opened it, and the generator immediately shut itself off.

After a few minutes, the blackout is over. However, I was worried that the generator might have degraded being ran in the "wrong" condition. So, (stupidly, without consulting anyone first) I tried to start the generator again. It won't start immediately. I have to "trigger" the valve to close briefly, before returning it to open to make it start working again. The technician told me to do that when the generator is difficult to start.

The generator starts very easily before. It has a button that I need to hold for a 1-2 seconds, and it'll start without me needing to do the "valve" trick. Also, I don't know if it's me being anxious, but I feel as if the generator did not "sound" as well as before. I wonder if my generator is broken permanently. Do I need to call a technician or will it somehow resolve itself?

I am not experienced in operating generators. It was recently that my area start experiencing power issues, so we bought a gas generator.