Engine is quite disassembled right now. Took the front of it off to replace the front crank seal (it was chewed up and spit out pretty bad) and took the carb off, too. Every screw in the baseplate was loose. I'm assuming those are what holds it to the main body? Hope those weren't metering screws of any kind, they sure didn't look like it.
I rebuilt a carb once from an exploded drawing, but I know very little about them. Know the principle, but couldn't build you one, you know?
Anyways, screwed those down tight. All screws are now tight except the 4 corner idle mix screws. And any other ones that I KNOW shouldn't be....
This weekend will be the test. Will be reassembling with a much *SAFER* carb (can't believe how everything was so loose). I will post results!!
Thanks again, everyone, for your help!
JP