2003 Johnson 150 (J150PLSTF) won't idle after carb rebuild

[RandyRVA]

I got a new to me, tritoon that has a 2003 Johnson 150 on it. It's a 2-stroke and was difficult to start but ran fine once I was finally able to get it started. There was fuel leaking from some of the bowls so I replaced the bowls with OEM and I decided to clean the carburetors to try to get it to start more easily. I unbolted the carbs from the intake manifold so I didn't mess with the linkage or the idle adjustment screws. Once I got it reassembled, it started up right away on muffs. Once I got it in the water, it refuses to idle more than 10 seconds before stalling. I'll see the RPMs at 1000, then 800, then 400 and it stalls. Squeezing the primer bulb does not keep it running. If I can get it into gear and get going, it seems fine.

I'm not sure if I need to adjust the idle screws or if it is something I overlooked. Because it ran before I cleaned the carbs, I don't think it was something I missed cleaning. I'd appreciate any suggestions from you guys!

Thanks

 

[racerone]

Did you swap over the high speed jets from old bowls to the new ones??----Are you pushing in the key and holding it in while cranking it over?

 

[RandyRVA]

Did you swap over the high speed jets from old bowls to the new ones??----Are you pushing in the key and holding it in while cranking it over?

Yes, I swapped the plug and the jets from the old bowl. I push the key in when cranking it over. Someone local had suggested that the choke may be stuck but I'm not sure how to check that.

 

[racerone]

Remove one of the wee hoses ( not at the primer valve )-----Fuel should come out when cranking.---But not when engine is running.

 

[RandyRVA]

Thank you! I'll give that a try!