1981 9.9 Johnson Seahorse, will only idle

Hello, any help here would be GREATLY appreciated. I bought a used 9.9 and believe it was running well last time the fellow used it. I did not attempt to run it until about 4 months later ( now) but I believe the carb was drained correctly. The motor may not have been run the season prior, not sure. Anyway the seller included an old plastic tank and fuel line which seems in good shape. He did replace the fuel pump and I checked the screen, clean as a whistle. I am a mechanic of sorts(motorcycles) but know little about these engines and they seem rather mysterious compared to my old bikes. Yesterday I started the motor in a barrel, after setting up the 50/1 and priming the thing it started right up. The problem is I only get an idle and very slight acceleration, it will not rev at all but will sit there idling forever if desired. I pulled the cover and ran it observing all. The armature plate moves as intended I believe and I can not see any issues. The one thing is the fuel line connection at the tank seems loose compared to the connection at the motor but I seem to get decent pressure squeezing the bulb. I am considering first getting a new tank and line tho I don't want to spend the $. Next pull the carb apart but hope not to have to. Maybe I'm missing something....I did get an original manual for this machine which is great.
Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom....
Art

Re: 1981 9.9 Johnson Seahorse, will only idle

are you putting it in gear in the barrel?....the throttle movement is restricted when the motor is in neutral

Re: 1981 9.9 Johnson Seahorse, will only idle

AlTn said:

are you putting it in gear in the barrel?....the throttle movement is restricted when the motor is in neutral

Click to expand...

I did put it in gear....but did NOT try the throttle in gear. As stupid as I may feel the relief is way worth my embarrassment! Thanks for the input, when I said they are mysterious to me I wasn't fooling I guess. I have used other OB motors that will rev in neutral however it does seem like a good idea to govern the RPM's , which may attest to the quality of these OMC motors. Thanks again, I will check as soon as I get home today.

Re: 1981 9.9 Johnson Seahorse, will only idle

in addition...google....leeroysramblings.com..9.9/15 hp. repair and maintenance..it's a wealth of info for that series of engines