hi, im working on a 98 75hp force. owner said that the motor wouldn't idle and would not restart.he also said that pushing the choke helped to keep it running some of the time. my first checks included compression (125 or so on all cylinders ).and a spark gap test.number 1 and 2 would jump 7/16. # 3 ,after i cleaned terminal on coil, would jump 3/8. so i went through the fuel system. new hoses,primer,fuel pump kit. it ran perfect in the drum for almost an hour. put it in the water and it had a definite miss. i then pulled the carb. every thing looked good. so i went back to the #3 cylinder . it would not jump a 7/16 gap. i swapped input wires and it followed the coil.so i replaced the coil with a new cdi. now the tach fluctuates and there is still a very slight random miss.(maybe a fouling plug ? ) one other note, in my haste to get it in the water for a test, i forgot to attach the feed wire to the coil.(STUPID MISTAKE) i ran the motor no more than 5 min then plugged the wire in. the tach started acting funny before i plugged the wire in.what did i hurt ? the stator? or the regulator ? any thoughts would be appreciated.......david