Update on my project.
I checked under the flywheel, everything in there looked good but the points were a little close so I reset them to .020. I'm getting a good spark. I replaced the fuel lines which appeared to be leaking a little. I cleaned the carburetor which didn't look bad and the ports are clear. Fuel was spitting back out where the hose connects from the tank when I disconnected it and pulled the starter rope so I looked into the fuel pump. It had a little gunk in it which could have been fouling the valves. I checked the compression and got 35 lbs on each cylinder (cold engine with pull rope). I'm concerned with that but I will try the de-carbonizing process to see if that helps. I want to get this thing where it will start easily then I'll look at the water pump and lower unit.