Final, Final note:
One of the things I tried during this process was modifying my fuel pump. I think Bill had recommended this to compensate for a worn cam lobe. Well, dummy me...I announced that my cam lobe looked great, with no signs of wear, yet made the modifications anyway (a blob of welding material on the lever arm to engage the cam better).
So this weekend, while checking my oil level, I noticed it was overfull and smelled of gas. Glad I checked it! Plus, some black soot from the new tailpipe.
Checked the forums and found that this was almost certainly a failed fuel pump dumping gas into the crankcase. I suspect my fiddling overstressed the pump diaphragm because I was probably getting full travel out of the arm. A guess, but seems logical.
Replaced the pump and all seems to be well again. Will monitor this though to make sure the pump is what caused it. I did check the pump that I removed and it seems like there is an extra inlet noise when I depress the lever. No real way to be sure, with my skills.
Just a word to the wise; Don't fix what's not broken or it will be.
Best,
Jim
