Put a T into the gas line between the fuel pump and the carb and monitor the fuel pressure with a 0-10 PSI gauge. It sounds like you have too much fuel pump pressure and the fuel is pushing the needle valve off its seat at idle and flooding the engine. If it were starving for gas you wouldn't have to hold the throttle wide open in the "clear flood" mode to restart. Are you running a mechanical or an electric fuel pump? Max fuel pressure for a carbureted engine should be around 4-5 PSI.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
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