I was given an older Hustler mower that had been sitting for a while. The Engine was not seized up but it was in pretty rough shape. I tore this thing all the way down to the frame, sanded, painted replace several parts but I did not take anything apart as far as the engine goes. It looked i really good shape so other than a new carb and plugs air filter fuel pump/lines. etc.etc. Nothing was done with the inner workings of the engine. WHEN I get the mower started it runs perfectly fine with about 20 hours on it after the rebuild. Getting it started is a constant battle. I was thinking carb issues but it is really not that old. The problem seems to be it floods real easy or something. I will crank on this thing and let it sit crank on it and let it sit for a dang hour before I can get it started. I am running out of ideas on what the trick is because eventually it just starts. I will always kill the petcock to make sure even though I am fairly confident fuel does not continue to flood from the carb bowl due to something stuck. I have replaced the plugs again because they did look a little burnt. Today trying to start it i fooled with it for about an hour choke/no choke...throttled up / throttled down....it will even crank crank and then backfire but wont start. I take the intake hose off and I do see some fuel in the intake but not an excessive amount to be completely pooled up or anything. Any Ideas on this I have not thought of or has anyone had similar issues and have a fix?