Alright, so I didn't get a chance to check it out at all yesterday, but today my wife walks in and asks me if there's any reason the garage should smell like gasoline...
Yeah, not good.
So I go into the garage, and find about 2 gallons of fuel in the bottom of the hull. The last thing I did was blow air into the check valve, and I left the petcock in the reserve position apparently... add to that I didn't have any zip ties on any of the fuel lines because I'd been taking the carbs on, and off, and on, and off ... and apparently all that pressure in the tank sent the fuel to the petcock where it leaked into the hull.
That wasn't fun, but I think I got it all out, flushed the hull with fresh water about 10 times, and everything looks good... even the paint on the engine looks alright... but it got me thinking.
Two things...
First, it seemed like the fuel lines expanded just slightly at the petcock...they slid off VERY easily. There were no zip ties on those lines, and it looked like both the reserve, and the out lines expanded slightly. So the first thought was... could the fuel lines being slightly loose cause a lean condition because they're sucking in a little air? The fuel line is helix racing fuel line... so yes, it's fuel line.
Second thought was, and this is totally random, but I have a temporary ground wire from the battery to the flywheel cover and it's attached to one of the bolts holding that on... I know this is a LONG shot, but could the ground to that spot be throwing something off ignition wise because it's grounding to the flywheel cover, instead of the starter? (I know this is not likely at all, and probably just me grasping for straws, but I'm putting it out there anyway)