Hi KrazyK,
I believe we spoke on the phone. To remedy the situation, I sent you a carburetor service repair kit. Please let us know how it turns out.
I am writing this for the benefit of the MB community. There have been issues with engines straight out of the box, where there appear to be intake leak type symptoms, but no remedy. When traced through the system, these symptoms, like what KrazyK described, are found to be faulty jet needles.
The difference between an intake leak and a poor taper on a jet needle is very slight. They respond the same, poor power, hard to start, and like to be run best w/ a little choke. The only difference between them is that an intake leak will have a sporadic idle that is all over the place, where as a mis-tapered jet needle will probably idle fine.
To clear up an intake leak, find out where the problem is coming from then seal up the area w/ gasket sealer, a new gasket, or by replacing the oil seal.
FYI, Spooky Tooth has a complete line of service parts from gasket sets to complete top-ends and crank case oil seals. Carb service ktis are $10
To fix the carburetor, simply replace the jet needle.
All carbs come from the same factory. Hence, a lot of the problems you find with the generic engines will also be present in the Starfire and Skyhawk line.
Enjoy the PowerPoint show here:
www.spookytoothcycles.com/pdf/NT_Carbs-Info.pptCheers. Roland