turns over and will begin running but after a few seconds it dies, especially if I press in the throttle to give it some gas. I have taken the carb out and cleaned it completely but this didnt seem to fix the problem. I have also tried adjusting the air control with a flat head but that didnt seem to work either. It has new gas in it although it did sit for a couple of years with old gas, but after cleaning the system I cant seem to diagnose the problem. Any suggestions?

 

so it runs but won't stay running long, right? you give it throttle and it bogs down and dies, right? you said you cleaned the carb. BUT did you pull the jets out and manually clean them? not just spray carb cleaner in every nook and cranny, but physically cleaned the jets? that is what you need to do. a little bit of debris or a small clog is enough to starve the engine for fuel. you must see daylight through all orifices and down the center of the jets.

 

I removed the carb and then did actually remove the jets and clean them separately. I can see light through them and when I spray more carb cleaner through the jets it comes out fine through the other end. I suppose its possible that debris from my hand could have gotten in as I reinstalled the carb but I dont think its very likely. I will try and clean it again however. I agree with you that it seems the only likely issue.

 

Try Adjusting the clip on the Needle slide up or down. adjusting it down will let more fuel in.

 

in your carb there are three jets {main,pilot} and the third one goes to your choke its compressed thats the one maybe plugged

 

i have some what the same issue. 2004 viper 2 stroke. no top end. idles fine and runs when giving gas, but no top end. will only go so fast. I cleaned carb, the got a new one and installed it. same issue. it's getting fuel, removed exhaust from block, removed air cleaner. still same issuei did take the oil injector off and mixed gas/oil at 40:1. any ideas???

 

Welcome to the forums.
It's better to start a new thread.
Have you checked the compression?

 

A long shot but I had the same problem with a Suzuki 50, I had removed the exhaust with no improvement. So asked an expert, and he said “check the exhaust port”, on shining a light down it I found a curtain of carbon almost completely blocking it, just on the part where the piston passes over it, once cleaned out performance was restored.