I had an evolutionwhich lasted about 2 yrs, not many flights maybe around 1gallon.... Inside bearings went and the engine started spitting out metal pieces... Kept running making weird sounds until it decided to die... Also my first and last Evolution... Stupid limiters, low on power and bearings are crap.... I even had an ASP/Magnum/etc which was tons better and had incredible power.... If you want an easy engine get a OS, they run reliably and can take some abuse on settings(needles, plugs)... Wen ou know hat you doing get the cheaper range of engines, same as OS but cheaper and with a little more challenge on tuning... When you think you know about everything in engines get a Super Tigre and start learning again !!!!

I have 2 Super Tigres G90 and after making them run good, any other engine is just kids play....

By your explanation, your engine is lean, at around half throttle its starts needing more fuel and the high speed is not opened enough, it then dies... Also explains why it dies when flying, when the engine unloads on flight it usually goes a little faster, needs more gas and dies.... Try opening half turn, testing and then when it runs full power lift the nose up to 90 degrees and see if it remains constant.... Don't fly until you do that test, because usually when plane lifts from ground the angle is positive and that causes a lean engine to shut off just after takeoff...

I don't usually do pinch test, I first set high needle so it runs well in full throttle, if it sputters its rich, if it dies its lean.... Then after that I set low needle by checking engine reaction when you throttle up fast, if it takes its time to rev its rich, if its too fast or just dies its lean.... Set it around a confortable point where it takes a little to get to full revs....

Gotta go.... and good luck !!