Rough Start Up And Then Fine As I Gain Speed

I recently changed the Gearshift cable on my 01 Tribute ES, automatic column shifter. The repair manual suggested that I disengage the battery because I would be working near the airbags on the the steering column. I got the cable removed and replaced and then I reconnected the battery. Now the tribute is running pretty rough in the first intitial exceleration phase. Once it shifts to 2nd gear, it works fine. But the start offs are not good at all. A mechanic friend told me that with new cars, the computer needs to "re-learn" the car once you reconnect the battery. I'm puzzled. It's also making a Ch ch ch ch ch ch ch kind of noise during the start up. I might be loosing some compression. But that problem was there prior to me disconnecting the battery. The initial excelleration is really bad right now. Anybody got any thoughts?

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