my printer is busted, or i woud do that.  this is the best hobby and the worst hobby at the exact same time!

How much fuel has the engine had?
As supertib said setting it to idle well will be worthless once you get out there. For any given engine speed/temperature there is an ideal air/fuel ratio, meaning that you could adjust the gap and LSN to run perfectly from cold at idle but as temperature increases our mixture becomes leaner...or...we could adjust to run for an age on idle once upto temperature but then as soon as we open the throttle, again it is too lean.
Carbs have limitations....have a play if you are just bench running.

the engine hasnt had much fuel through it really, maybe 3 or 4 tanks all together

Ah, so really you should be looking for break in techniques. The links given provide break in guidance and there are many other guides available.
Concerning the discription of how to the set the LSN in the manual, set the slide gap with the idle screw and then screw in the LSN untill resistance is felt (ideally set this with the servo linkage disconnected and holding the slide closed...gently), back it out the amount of turns it tells you. Just get it close to the base settings and get the engine broken in...temperatures during break in are very important.