Ben, Have you always had this problem?.. and I though you said that the problem was on the ground as well as in the air?.. your right about the 2stroke, not much going on mechanically with them.. you have air/fuel/ igniton. thats about it. If you have all 3.. it should work. Don't know if you took your carb off but in any event.. you can check the pulse hole in the gasket and spacer to make sure its lined up with the hole in the carb. Sounds like it should be but ?? The odd thing about your situation is that your engine begins to run rich and thats not normally the failure mode. I wouldn't be surprised if its the inlet needle/metering diaphram. You could check to see if the inlet needle is doing its job by putting 5-7pressure lbs into the fuel line and see if it holds, It shouldnt be leaking. Regards BobH.