I worked on these motors and ran them brand new out of the box.-----But I can not see, hear and feel these motors.-----Yet folks appear to want instant diagnosis from 1000 miles away.----Not going to happen.
???-----The inline 6 Mercury 2 stroke only had choke plates on the top 2 of 3 carburetors !-----The idea on the YAMAHA here is that a motor in good condition will start with full choke on 2 cylinders.-----And will not flood and stall because bottom 2 cylinders are getting plenty of air.-----I do...
???----There is no ----Injection system ----on a 1976 2 stroke model -----Need a model # of this motor !-----Gas and oil are mixed at 50:1 on this engine.
Older motors are elegantly simple and do not require $150/ hr factory support !!----So simple and reliable.-----One issue today is that folks have little to no idea how 2 strokes work and how they need to be looked after.
Year / serial# ?-----Perhaps there is a ruptured fuel pump diaphragm or leaking float valves.----Or air leaks on fuel line / inside fuel tank and bulb is pumping air.----Should be easy to correct I think.
At the top of the cylinder head in your picture are there not 2 ports that go to the water jacket ?-----There are on a cylinder head off a 78 model that I just looked at !