1998' 90hp 60 degree, running VERY BAD.. HELP!!!

1998 90 HP 60 degree (model # J90SLECM)
I just rebuilt the entire motor 100 hours ago.
My motor has been running a bit bad lately, not wanting to idle in gear, hard starting etc.. I was told it was more than likely an ethanol problem. I put 3 oz of sta-bil ethanol treatment in the gas (30 gal tank). This seemed to make it worse.
Yesterday I left the dock, and it was a little hard to start, but nothing out of the ordinary. I ran probably 5 miles both no-wake and cruise speeds. I shut it down at the sandbar, started back up after about an hour. It was even harder to start this time. As soon as I put it in gear it dies. Finally got it running and shut it down after about a mile while we fished under a bridge. I could NOT get it running again worth a crap.. Smoking horribly, shaking etc. The only way to make it run was with the throttle at 75% , out of gear and it turned about 2000 to 2500 RPM , that is it!
I checked the water separator, and it was clean. Pumped primer to see if it would smooth out, nothing.
I noticed a “substance” inside the carbs that was a milky/blue color, there’s no water in my oil tank, no water in the fuel separator. (yes the VRO is still hooked up).
I noticed that one of the little rubber hoses behind the starter had popped off and was spraying gas out. The top one on the port side of the block, (not the enriching/choke line) . I put it back on and the problem persisted.
I managed to start it in gear, (2000-2500 rpm) and limped to the nearest ramp. Could not get any more rpm than 2500 and no less than 2000 (w/o it shutting off), leaving a nice blue smoke trail behind me..
WTF??? Any advice??

Re: 98' 90hp 60 degree, running VERY BAD.. HELP!!!

Start with a compression check - yes, only 100 hours on the rebuild but...

Also, why was it rebuilt? Was the "real problem" tracked down or was only the busted stuff replaced.

What I'm getting at is - a toasted cylinder/piston may have been the result of a clogged carb. Boring the cylinder and replacing the piston fixed the "result" but not the problem, so what all did your "rebuild" entail.

If the carbs weren't done, I would be looking at them with some suspicion at this point...

Re: 98' 90hp 60 degree, running VERY BAD.. HELP!!!

the boat sank at the dock (partially) and locked up the lower bearing, and siezed the rings on the cyl 3 and 4. I honed the cylinders with a rigid hone and replaced the 2 pistons/rings. the entire block was cleaned and inspected.
Carbs were rebuilt/cleaned but new kits were only used on the 2 bottom carbs. (Obama stimulus didnt apply to me).
I did notice that one of the "flaps" on the reed valves for cyl # 4 was etched where the stainless flap meets the aluminum housing. other than that it was a pretty thorough rebuild, only bc of the saltwater intrusion.

Re: 98' 90hp 60 degree, running VERY BAD.. HELP!!!

note, i replaced the rings with oem size as well as pistons. compression was 130 all around when done

Re: 98' 90hp 60 degree, running VERY BAD.. HELP!!!

OK, compression goes as follows. Cyl 1- 120, cly 2 -120 , cyl 3- 120 , cly 4 -100 to 110.
I will be taking the carbs apart tonight. Last night i removed the entire fuel system and cleaned. I took apart the VRO pump but i didnt have a rebuild kit. Everything looked good inside of it, but im not sure what to look for.
I found a lot of trash inside the cone shaped filter screen where the main fuel comes into the assembly on the front of the motor.
The spark plugs looked like crap, oily and dirty. Is it possible that a fuel restriction could have caused the motor to use more oil?

Re: 98' 90hp 60 degree, running VERY BAD.. HELP!!!

It could have. If the fuel was partially restricted that would not have necessarily effected the oil side of the pump.

So it could have been mixing extremely "oil rich" - and since oil doesn't burn worth a crap, it could account for the poor running (oil flood) and the excess smoke..