Disregard question 1. I had completely misinterpreted what I was looking at.
My undiagnosed dyslexia got me on question 2. But reverse the question. Could the uncompressed foam outside the paper filter allow a path of lesser resistance? Air up through the foam and then straight down the carb. Still filtered via the foam I guess. But could a piece of impermeable material be added on that outer ring to completely block that path?
