1972 850 mercury idle problem and i got shocked!

hi, ive been stuck at this problem for a while. i need some help... I can start my motor up with the trottle up about half way but when i put it in idle (neutral) it dies about 10-30 secs after. sometimes it dies right away when i put it in idle. I did do a float change and a needle change in the crab but that did not make a difference. i did not put in any additives (stabil) during the winter time. I am from Wisc. Do yo think that could be my problem. When i did open up the carb float housing there was not alot of gas in there, is that suppose to be normal and when i pump gas into the motor it leaks out from the carb opening. I have not checked the fuel pump yet though i did check the hoses leading up to the pump and a good amount of gas came out. And is the boats rpm gauage suppose to be near the 1000 rpm mark even when the motor is not running. Another thing is i was shocked when i touched the metal case part where the sparkplugs go into. i did not touch the sparkplug, it is where the water hose comes out of and into the pee hole. Is this normal or is there a wire that is not grounded right? so many qestions with little time b4 the season opener...