One more time- - - - -might as well add to the "won't do it" list! Obtain a pressure/vacuum gauge from a local parts store, Ebay, Amazon, or a dozen other sources. They're less than 20 bucks no matter where you find one. "deadhead" the fuel line at the carburetor into the gauge line and run the engine at idle on the fuel in the float bowl. The pressure should be somewhere in the 2-4 PSI range, and (this is important)- - - -it will stay there for at least several seconds after the engine is shut down. This tests the outlet check valve of the pump. Now, switch the gauge to the inlet fitting of the fuel pump. Idle the engine. The vacuum should be around 10 inches of mercury or more. The vacuum should also stay there for a while after shutdown, checking the inlet check valve. Final test- - - -run the engine at idle for 30 seconds with the carburetor line plumbed to a catch container- - - - -it should flow at least a pint of gasoline (2 cups). It sounds like your hard start problem is one or both check valves are failed, allowing the fuel to drain back and empty the carb inlet line. A pinhole leak in the flex line from the fuel pump to the frame will also allow the fuel line to develop an air lock, usually without making a puddle of gas in the floor.


www.harborfreight.com/fuel-pump-and-vacuum-tester-62637.html


I learned the above procedure in the early 1960's and I've done it a minimum of several hundred times since then.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!