Another thought, we were having trouble with our outboard and finally gave it to an outboard mechanic. He discovered that the O-ring that seals the carb to the intake manifold was missing. Replaced it and the engine ran great again. What was mystifying is that I hadn't removed the carburetor and no pieces of the O-ring were left in the engine, so there is no idea what happened to it. Maybe someone forgot to put something like that back in... check the engine's parts diagram for something simple like this. *Rudy & Jill Sechez * *BRINEY BUG-a 34' Sail-Assisted Trawler * *850-832-7748 * *Cambridge MD Chesapeake*