Problem sorted. It was the bent needle valve assembly. I actually did an upgrade on the needle valve and seat/oriface. On the Irvine .40 that I have, there is no type of gasket between where you screw the needle and mixture control and the seat fitting. The Irvine .46 and bigger engines have a notch with an o-ring on the seat assembly. I installed the new one and wala .. all problems solved.

Thanks all for the help

Bo