73 85hp starts only when gas is poured into cyl

I have a 73 model 85hp Mercury and am having to work some bugs out of it. It doesnt seem to want to start until I pour a little gas into one of the cylinders. Then it will idle kinda high but will run. The bulb stays hard too. I just bought this motor and its my first merc so I was hoping for some advice on this make/model. Im thinking it will need the carbs rebuilt,and a water pump impeller. It pumps water fine but on the water hose it is a bit warm running out of the pee hole and from what I was told from the previous owner it has been sitting for almost two years. My main objective here is too make this motor dependable and am needing some info. on these types of motors. Tried to adjust the idle and had the crap shocked out of me. So at that point I decided this motor would be a little different than the 9.9 johnson I used to tinker with. Would also like to know where to download a cheap service manual. Thanks in advance guys.