I've been following the DLE85 threads as I've considered getting one as a replacement engine for an old 33% plane hanging in my garage. Love the airplane but the engine is dated and needs replacement.

The engine flooding / starting problem you mention concerns me quite a bit. You are not the first to mention this and the DLE111 has also experienced the same problem. I don't know if the 111 and 85 share the same carb. No healthy Walbro or Walbro clone should leak gas during fueling. The only thing that could allow that is the metering needle. If it was leaking or if the pop off pressure was set way too low it could cause the problem. If this is the problem, I could certainly understand the engine being hard to start and continued flooding. Have you tested the pop off pressure on that carb?