As mentioned before, I cleaned the "barrell gas filter" that fits into the base of the carb. I finally had a chance to give the truck a quick test run, and it "appears" that she is getting plenty of fuel now. I did not want to risk a longer test at the time, so this is just a good sign that the fuel issue is solved......she did not get gas starved and stall out as before. Thanks for pointing me to that barrell fuel filter, as it seems that it was indeed fouled up with enough fine sludge to restrict the gas flow.
Today I pulled the plugs and did a compression test......the plugs are pretty black. I installed the new plugs 3 years ago, and only 650 miles ago. Here are some pics showing the plugs lined up in correct order, and with the compression readings:
Most were consistent and hovering around 140, but No. 8 was a bit low at 122, and 5 was down at 132:
Is this still in a "good" range, or is that cylinder No. 8 a red flag?
The plugs were black, which I suppose is a sign of running way too rich. I never see any dark smoke coming out of the exhausts, so I dont think it is burning oil. However, a couple plugs do have oil leaking around the plug opening area (will show in next post), and I am guessing that the valve cover gaskets are leaking and oozing down to the plug area.
