You may have mentioned already, but have you evaluated part 15 in the diagram part # 0315140
People love to gouge those orifice jets with all kinds of thing to clean them. If enlarged, they can create a rich running condition. Sorry if you have already reviewed this and I missed it.
You make an excellent point….The main jet is “marked” 44… The part number mentioned is 315140, the problem is that I have no way of connecting the part number to the number on the jet…
And yes, I have considered that someone could have hogged the hole to a larger size…My next move will be to try a carb assembly from a different engine.
I am “guessing” this jet has not been hogged out, only because the engine doesn’t seem rich, but who knows.
Will be getting back to this project soon, put it aside for awhile due to frustration, but am getting fired up about it again….
D