1996 Johnson 175 intruder looper , stalling when going in gear, help!

[Leerock44]

Hey guys, I'm new to treads so be pasient please, I have a 175 Johnson intruder it's a loop charged motor, I don't know a lot but I know I bought It off a guy that had it in a storage building over the winter the storage building next to it caught fire and the boat and motor were exposed to very high head, the guy told me it needed
A power pack, seemed honest , I broght it home and it seemed to have good blue spark on all 6 wires and plugs, cranked good and easy on muffs but idled way to high even without back pressure to high, took it to the lake and it was hard to start in water the it would start and idle but everytime I went to put it in gear it would die on me, it's fouling plugs as well, compressions good, carbs cleaned and rebuild correctly , could it be the power pack after all? I'm stumpped , any ideas? Ps today found out it has no thermostats.

[Haffiman]

Check out the shift switch on the engine shift lever. Disconnect it and test, but be aware engine will be difficult to get out of gear..

[Leerock44]

Thanks for your reply, is this the shift assist on the back right of the motor?

[Haffiman]

On stb side, mounted on the shift linkage where you connect the shift cable.