What would happen if i disconnected this wire???

[CTScott]

Did the car actually start, or was the starter actually "pushing" the car?

The starter pushing it makes more sense to me, as it would explain being able to hold the car back, as well as explain the retries of the remote starter. If the engine started and then stalled, the remote starter wouldn't retry. But, if it never started, the remote starter would keep spinning the starter for n number of seconds and then would stop cranking and then try again for the number of retries...