ok heres the deal.the motor is an 86 force 85hp.i have been having bits of trouble lately an have worked all of them out until now.all h*** seems to have broken loose around here.so lets start from the begining shall we...be sure you have a fresh drink and some snacks handy.<br /> the problem is the motor now will not start.it began when i tore down the powerhead in order to replace a bad piston.all parts were thourally cleaned and put back together with new gaskets.flushed the tank and gave it fresh fuel.replaced the plugs.replaced fuel lines.rebuilt the fuel pump.and did a good cleaning of the carbs,but did not do a rebuild on them.I have good compression.good fire.good fuel.motor would not start at idle..nor would it start using fast idle.i temporarely disconected the shift lever as well as the neutral start switch.in this manner it would start.i checked synk and link and adjusted properly.set my idle mix screws to base setting as prescribed by the manuel.still no start.overheated starter and had it rebuild also bought a new battery(wasnt holding charge very well...old batt)starter and batt working great now.still no start.rechecked all wireing connections, cleaned and secure.all i can get is a goot wanna start and tha occasional backfire and thats about it.using muffs right now as motor is too low to set a barrel onder it.had it out once when it would start and ran good for 1 hour then would bog down at wot.would only continue to run if i lowered the throttle to about 1/2. so as it stands right now ...sometimes it wants to start and sometimes dosent sound like it feels like it...confused here...runnin around in circles...send help or a new Merc 125.