Clutch/brake adjustment.

Before I look up the number. I have a couple of craftsman riders. Mostly the same. Non-hydro's. Your brake petal goes far down before the brake grabs? Adjustment rod. When sitting on it, it will be on the the right side of the rider.

Look in front of the rear wheel. See a rod with the spring? Loosen the nut that locks the rod still, spin the other nut to get the spring closer to the arm. ( It reduces the brake petal's travel.) I reached in without taking anything off to do mine. Give it a few turns and step on the brake. Keep going till you are happy with it. Lock the nut down to the other nut. Hope this helped.

Most have a brake adjustment on the right (from the seat)side, with a lever and a rod, and a spring loaded adjusting nut. The rod gets pulled by the brake/clutch pedal, moving the lever, to rotate the brake mechanism on the side of the transmission. The rotation should squeeze the pads around a rotating disk that is splined to an internal transmission shaft. If the pads are worn... if the 'ramp' mechanism is loose... If the spring adjuster on the rod is too loose to move the brake lever enough... all will/can allow for poor braking performance. Take a look. You may need some new pads, or just a tightening of the nut on the end of the brake rod. Might want to look on the left side to see that the brake/clutch pedal pivot is tight(don't remember what it looks like).
As far as wheelies, you have two choices. Turn down the throttle when you start from a stop, then engage, then turn the throttle back up. Second would be to releast the pedal a little bit more tentatively. I think they all have a tendency to jump unless you are real easy on the clutch. What is happening is that an idler pulley is being allowed to use spring tension to press against the outer side of the drive belt. As it presses, it tightens the belt against the PTO pulley(on the engine crankshaft). If it tightens too fast, you'll jump or try to do a wheelie. If you could make it slip more, such as by oiling or waxing, it might engage more smoothly, however it might also cause the belt to slip, or damage the belt reducing its longevity... I have not tried any of that.
As far as I know, it is the nature of the beast, and is common to other mower brands as well. If you could make the brake/clutch linkage bind a bit more, by never lubricating pivot points and rotating bits, it might get stiff enough on its own to cause more gentle release. I think I'll continue to lube, and try to be ginger in releasing the pedal myself.
tom