Smoking clutch and stall on starting

[thstone]

It is normal to have an acrid smoke odor after slipping the clutch as on a hill start or a quick getaway from a standing start. But I have never seen white smoke - that would be worrisome. I'd give it a short time to go away as the shop suggested, otherwise I'd follow up with them again.

A new clutch can be grabby when new. After a short break-in it should feel like normal (assuming that everything is ok with the installation). If not, I'd talk to the shop about it.

It is normal for the engine to rev up a bit on startup. The ECU is programmed to do this but it should ramp down to a nice even idle almost immediately. If the RPM's are dropping to the point where the engine dies, then there is something wrong. Could be the MAF, idle control, or a number of other things. It might be hard to diagnose without a CEL.