So here's what I found in my clymer manual. I think this hits the nail on the head and I'm curious what you all think. So the manual references the fuel recirculation system, which feeds unburnt crankcase fuel back into the cylinders. Fuel pools during idling and gets fed back in to be burned. At high rpms, recirculation isn't needed since the fuel burns more completely. When this system gets clogged (uses fine mesh at the inlets crankcase outlets so how would it not), you get a lean condition at idle due to pooled crank fuel not being burned, and when you punch the gas, excess crank gas gets dumped into the cylinders resulting in an overly rich condition. Symptoms includes:
Sputtering and stalling at idle
Poor low speed performance
Poor exceleration
Fouled plugs
Excessive smoke
I was experiencing all of these symptoms, especially the longer I went on with the motor running while I tried to diagnose the problem. Especially the smoke, which only occurred at higher rpms, like pooled fuel was getting dumped into the cylinders, and last time I ran it, it started sputtering hard and dying without some throttle. I also had wet fouled plugs like when you have flooded the motor, but after it running for 10 minutes. Also, I was suspicious of this and I pulled the hose going to the fuel pump from the recirc cover, and the hose was completely dry on the inside. Could my recirc be clogged? Did running seafoam dislodge a lot of crap that clogged my recirc? Am I making a stretch of could this be a part of my problem?