Fro some odd reason, my mtd won't shut off. The throttle cable is broken, I don't know if that has an effect or not. It's taped so it works. When I turn the key off it just spits and sputters. I have to push on the throttle lever down by the engine to help it.
Any ideas??

It MAY hurt a little, but grit your teeth, and grab the spark plug wire and jerk really fast, and don't say any bad words.
Now seriously, the throttle plate has a kill post on it, that is worked by the throttle on some models. See if there is a small, usuallly black, wire running to the throttle plate.