Hey, apologies for taking so long! Life hit everyone at Sad Folks Interactive rapidly and repeatedly and pushed this update much further back than any of us had anticipated.
We're still awaiting approval for the Catalog update, but soon as it is, both of your requests have been implemented. The "Use the Crank" message vanishes after a couple seconds of play, and you can now use A to propel yourself upwards during gameplay. Hope you enjoy!