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Ive put on new battery plugs (gapped @ .030) new fuel filter drained tank w/fresh high octane gas oil and filter and starter silinoid. now... Im getting spark. (pulled plug wire off put screwdriver in saw good spark) fuel pump is working.....turn over fast but wont start. raw gas dripping out of muffler... what else could it be? Is my float stuck and flooding it?

Main reason you are not getting any replies, we have no idea what engine you are talking about. If you have fuel running out of the muffler, you definitely have a flooding problem. Help us help you by giving us a little more info, lots of good techs here, but none of us have working ESP, lost mine during the Bay of Pigs incident, never got it back.

Ok the engine is a Kohler courage sv730 after doing a "finger to the spark plug hole compression check" its good my fuel cut off switch @ bottom of carb bowl comes on when I turn the key on (it clicks once) now Im thinking I need to check the float for a hole or just stuck (but not sure about the needle valve can that cause my issue too? I did get it to fire a couple times today but more fuel in exhaust ( I quit trying due to fire hazard) and that was with the air filter off and fuel line from tank disconnected. must be flooded bad I can also see fuel splashing around down inside the air intake so....... thank you to any and all who reply

If you are getting fuel in the exhaust then obviously you are getting fuel in the engine.
So either you are not getting a spark, or you are getting a spark at the wrong time or way way too much fuel.
Turn off the fuel ( pull the solenoid wire off if you don't have a tap ), put an inline spark tested on the plugs and get a can of starter fluid.
Crank the engine looking for a nice consistant flash from the testers.
No start after 4 or 5 bouts of 30 sec then remove the plugs, flush them with the starter fluid & blow then dry.
Replace them & try again.
No joy, try some starter fluid down the carb.

If you have spark & get no bangs then check the flywheel key

after taking carb off and emptying the float bowl (float was free and clean w/o holes or fuel inside) and replacinging w/o fuel lines connected i got it to start but just for 3 or 4 seconds. I put everything back together and tried to start , nothing till batt went dead (several minutes of trying and resting) the fuel shut off on bottom of float bowl is working. I tried with it unpluged and plugged in. fly wheel key seams to be place and in and in good shape. Maybe I'm not getting enough spark Im going to buy a tester today. any help is much appreciated,
thanks in advance!

The mower is only three years old and been barn kept.....although the coils have a little surface rust around them.

Time to start over and no jumping around. You seem to have spark and fuel, so we need to have specific tests and results, so we can solve this. Remember, we are not standing next to you to see what is happening. You must follow each step to a tee and don't skip any, assuming that the results have been tested already and you know the answer or outcome to that step. Remember you are our eyes, ears and fingers, so when you report back, the picture you paint for us must be perfectly clear, so we understand what is happening. Failure to do this will not help us or you.

1. Charge the battery overnight, make sure it is fully charged.
2. Turn off the fuel and leave it off until you are told to turn it back on. If you have no shut off, clamp the fuel line with a vise grip pliers.
3. Remove both spark plugs and air cleaner.
4. Turn the engine over for about 5 seconds, this will remove all fuel from the cylinders.
5. Replace the spark plugs.
6. Put the unit in park and make sure the PTO is off.
7. Set the throttle at full open, but NO choke.
8. With your hand on the fuel solenoid, turn the key to the on position. You should feel the solenoid opening when doing this. You may have to do this a couple of times to make sure you feel the solenoid opening. If you do not feel it opening, we have found part of our problem. The solenoid may have to be cleaned or replaced, but we'll get to that later.
9. If you feel it opening, spray some type of starting fluid into the carb air horn. I prefer carb cleaner over either, as either is to dry for me. Some techs like to remove the spark plugs and spray directly into the cylinders. If you do this you must replace the plugs very quickly, before the fluid evaporates.
10. Try starting the engine, we want to know if it will fire. It will not stay running. Do not crank the engine over more than 5 seconds. You may try to do this a couple of times together it to fire.
11. If you get the engine to fire continue on. If no fire, you are either not getting fuel in the cylinder or have no spark. Go to step 16.
12. You got it to fire so open the fuel line for 15 seconds, the shut it off again. We want to make sure the float bowl is full, but not running over.
13. Move the throttle to the choke position or if you have a secondary choke control make sure the choke is closed.
14. Spray some starting fluid into the air horn and start the engine. Try to keep it running by continuing to spray and open the choke. Hopefully the engine will continue to run for about a minute.
15. If it continues to run or not, we will stop at this point and want you to report back what you how found. Be specific and don't leave out anything.
16. You now have to check for spark, either with a spark tester or by removing the plugs and holding them against a good ground while cranking the engine.
17. If you have good spark, we will have to figure out why no fuel is getting into the cylinder.
18. This will involve some technical steps, so we will stop here and wait for a report back.

I know that this is long and tedious, but that is often what troubleshooting a problem involves. I'm sure that when you report back, either I, Bert or another tech will get back to you ASAP, but realize we have other jobs and it will not be immediate. Remember very clear picture.