The reed block on my engine had a couple of small raised edges where the screws to hold the reeds down had been screwed in a little too tight. Hope that explains it.

Anyway, I took it all apart because I could see that the reeds were just not quite laying flat against the block.

A few minutes with some superfine wet and dry sand paper got them good and square (flat) again. I did a check after re-assembly by wetting the contact surfaces between the reed and block and could see it was good now.

I did this before ever running the engine, so I don't know what effect it might have had, but figure it was better to catch it now rather than later.

I also found 1/64" thick gasket material by Felpro at NAPA 18"x36" for $4bucks. This was the thinnest fuel compatible gasket material I have been able to find locally.