Hey guys..
So today, I'm the proud new owner of a Montblanc 146 with a fine nib. It's beautiful. I've always been enamored with MB's from an outsider perspective and as I got into pens more seriously recently, it went on the grail list first. So about 3 weeks ago I was able to pick up this 146 from another forum's classified section.

I received it today and it's just as beautiful as I thought it would be. A perfect size too. I flushed it out, then inked it up with some Diamine Sargasso Sea and was ready to go!!
One problem though (well 2).. it's doesn't work as expected.
First problem: The pen skips.. badly. Especially when writing fast. Also hard starts like crazy. I looked at the tines under a loupe and there is a pretty big gap between the them. When it writes- it writes great, but when I stop for more than a few seconds it hard starts again. And like I said, skips along the way if writing fast.
Because of this, I flushed the pen again and soaked the nib in warm water for a couple minutes. I noticed my hands getting really inky as I was flushing it for the second time.
Which brings me to the
Second Problem: If I've just emptied the pen (like squirted the unused ink back into the ink bottle), I hear some air release up by the piston knob as I twist it down, then a spray of ink spritzes out from the threads area of the piston knob. I kept doing it a couple times and quite a bit of ink is coming out of the piston knob as I twist it down.

What could be causing this? I purchased the pen from a user in Europe (I am in the U.S.), so I'd rather not send it all the way back if it's an easy fix.
As MontBlanc professionals, what would you do?