In answer to your very nebulous description. If the deep grass hid a rock .sprinkler etc. If the starter feels funny as you pull it over? it could be a sheared flywheel key

Does it kickback when you pull the rope?

It sounds like it wants to start but when pulling the cord on it it is real easy and not that tight I guess you would say

I had a 21-year old LawnBoy Professional that I loved. One day, while mowing, I noticed that it was bogging down in grass that it would normally cut through easily. Then, I pushed down on the handle (to lift the front of the mower), and she cut-off as though I had let go of the "dead-man" switch. That was the last time she ever fired. Come to find out, the block is designed in two parts which are sealed via a gasket (or gasket-like material). Strain on the housing (a stone had penetrated it long ago and it had apparently been flexing), had caused a separation between the two block halves and the compression was gone. To my dismay, I was convinced that parts were not available and it wasn't worth fixing (I doubt I will ever own a mower I liked as much as that one).

I'm not suggesting that your issue is caused by the same problem, but you need to (or have someone) check for fuel delivery, spark, and compression. If it pulls much more easily than before, you may have a compression problem. That's what did in my beloved LawnBoy.

Good luck.

Caruso