1981 Evinrude 35 hp Motor just stopped running.

I was on the lake yesterday and started off running at crusing speed (22 mph) to my first fishing spot. We trolled there for a while at 3 to 4 mph then ran to the other side of the lake some of that at WOT (28 mph). We trolled that area, then moved again at crusing speed. Trolled that area for about 30 minutes then decided to head back to one last spot before calling it a day. We ran at crusing speed for about 1/4 mile then WOT for about 2 miles. When I slowed down at the last spot and started to idle in the the area, the motor sputtered and died. I checked and the motor didn't seem like it was overheated but it was hard to get it to shift into neutral. Once I got it into neutral I got it to start once after 5 pulls (This is a one pull to start motor) it ran for about 5 seconds at medium throttle but died when I tried to lower it to idle.
It was only about 400 yards from the boat ramp so I used the trolling motor to get there. Once there I tried again. This time I pulled on it about 10 times to no avail. I set it at full throttle and it fired up but once I went back to idle it died.

Sorry for the long drawn out explaination. Any suggestions on where to start would be appreciated.

Re: 1981 Evinrude 35 hp Motor just stopped running.

Has it been awhile since the carb has been cleaned? It could also be old fuel or the fuel tank not venting. Check the fuel system first, then the ignition (plugs, wires, coils). It's also possible you are loosing ignition on one cylinder.

Re: 1981 Evinrude 35 hp Motor just stopped running.

One thing I just remembered is when we launched the boat the fuel line connection at the tank became disconnected. I must have bumped the lever without noticing it. It collapsed the hose and primer and died. I reconnected it and re-primed it and it started with no issues. We ran for two hours before my problem started. With all the ethanol issues on deteriating hoses, maybe some rubber came loose inside the hose. I always use marine grade Stabil when I fill up and the fuel is fresh, the fuel that was in the tank was from last week and I added 3 gallons to a five gallon tank before we left yesterday. I ran several tanks of SeaFoam through it last August. The fuel tank is venting. I will look at the carburator as well as the plugs. Probably check compression also and see where that leads me.

Re: 1981 Evinrude 35 hp Motor just stopped running.

Ok I was able to do some trouibleshooting today and ended up figuring out my problem. The low idle adjustment screw had backed out running way to rich to idle. The threads are real loose and you can watch the shaft move back and forth from the vibration of the engine. Any suggestions on how to tighten this up so it will stay set.