and no, I AM guilty of not running the gas out after use... and with our odd CA gas... who knows what decided to form into a varnish in the carb. I've got it "up on the rack" right now... I'll get a "carb kit" on Monday to replace the gaskets.

Just FYI... my lawnmower had a similar problem after only two years of use. I had to start it with starting fluid all the time... what a PITA.

I ran the gas out of the outboard this last time... and realized just how to do it effectively. (doing circles within rowing distance of the mothership).