Trevor
Take the choke and throttle loose from the carb and hold them up while squirting some PBlaster down the line. Really soak them letting it run down inside. If you can leave the hood up then see if you can keep the lines "up in the air" for a day. After that put a pair of vice grips on the end of the wire that is exposed and see if you can PUSH it back which would push the knob out on the inside.
The paint deal is a personal thing. Some have gave their trucks a good "washing" and actually sprayed some type of clear over it to preserve the patina look. If there is enough to paint on there to give it a good bath and "car skin/wax" job that should do the truck. Don't worry about it being to shiny, it'll dull up to just right after a few weeks in the weather
Note: if you had it Idling and it just quit there is something wrong besides the throttle and choke.... unless the choke is stuck closed.
You may want to ask the "paint" question in the Paint&Body forum. It will get mover views and responses and most likely someone who has already done it!!
