glow plug seemed ok. i leaned out another 2 clicks and flew 2 tanks. so now it's almost exactly 1 turn out on the main and 45-50* to the right on mixture screw. there's definitely less fuel all around than when i originally posted the question. it's not completely cleaned up though.
i'll be checking other things in the next few flights to see how it starts in other places not near the carb. but main fuel needle is definitely what's controlling it. stock fuel tubing has held up well so far, especially the clunk line, since i had fuel sitting in the tank for 9 months from last season.
i think my belt stretched a bit. how much should it deflect near the pulley in the frame? mine deflects just a tiny bit over 1/4 inch. i tried to make it skip teeth by pressuring the pulleys in opposite directions, but it didn't skip at all.
besides that, it's been going well. i'm doing side-in hover and a tad bit of nose in and just moving it around all over the place. i also tried a bit of not-so-Fast Forward Flight
with turns. i get scared when starting to turn into a nose-in condition, but i'm trying to get the hang of it. also the co-pilot is great to have on when trying these things.
it's interesting how a heli compares to a plane when learning to fly. heli needs input and attention to hold it in place (on a windy day), but in a way, it also allows you to kinda relax while you hold it in one place. a plane doesn't need constant adjustment to keep it balanced, but then you can't just let it fly indefinitely while you stop to scratch your nose, you have to make it turn before it gets too far and bring it around. i'd like to experience that type of flying at one point too.