Luce, mine was rich and retarded at first start also. I fixed the timing (16 at idle, 950 rpm and 32 total all in by 3200 rpm), but my very rich issue seems to be a cracked baseplate on the carb. I've swapped carbs, changed the
oil and filter, and will try to start it again and tune the carb today. We'll see how it goes. Good luck to both you and Chris!