Thanks, guys,

As it turns out, the gas tank also leaks, so I took the opportunity, while I'm coating the inside of the tank, to disassemble the carb one more time and I will soak it overnight as it will take 24 hour for the tank to cure anyway. In the meantime, I'll find some fine wires or line to try to get the last speck of crud out of the orifices as per Doug's lead.

Dan-I'm certain the valves, gap and timing are per spec. I must have done that routine a thousand times when I owned a VW bug. However, I've set the timing to the factory mark, but on a 42 year old engine with 5000 miles, maybe it needs to be advanced or retarded off that mark. I don't know.

The needle clip is in the upper most position. That would allow the needle to descend into the jet the farthest and I guess that means the the carb would be at its leanest. I have not tried a different slot, but I think I will. If I pull the spark plug after idling, the tip is black and the bike does smoke at that time. After a run around the block, the plug is white, like the mix is too lean.

Oh well, I'll put it back together tomorrow and report back.

Thanks for the help,
Eric