You have already lost your mind, you bought a boat and a boat motor!
LOL... More than you know, I have 7 of them and a few more in pieces...Only 1 Merc though.
On a more serious note, I have confirmed that the oil bleed hose does not go to the typical location on the bottom of the carb mount flange. I'm really stumped by this, The hose is only 4" long and I've spent a long time looking for the hole within it's reach.
The thought even crossed my mind that my motor somehow missed a stage in the machining process and never had a hole but
if this were the case, I'd expect to see oil residue in the lower pan and it's clean. I'm hoping someone can solve this little mystery.