I have a Cub Cadet RZT 50 model 17BA5A7P710 which has never given problems. I was mowing the other day when the engine made a lot of bad noises and quit. Now it won't start and just backfires if it fires at all. It doesn't fire unless I squirt a bit of gas into the carb. The fuel is fresh and the air cleaner is new. I looked at both spark plugs and found one to be dry and a good color while the other one is a bit oily. I don't have a compression tester but I put my finger over the hole and turned over the engine and it has compression. The engine has 472 hrs.
I am now push mowing what took me 6 hrs with the zero turn. It rains a lot lately so I'm getting a bit tired of it.