2001 Johnson Outboard

[illinoisbassfishin]

I have a 2001 Johnson 175 2-stroke. It is the loop charged V6 with the optical ignition system. It is a carb model with 3 carbs on each side of the motor. I am having troubles with the motor and the problem is sporadic and you just never know when it is going to happen. Some days it may not happen at all and some days it happens quite a bit but more often than not it happens at least 1-2 times each day out fishing. It is having troubles spitting and sputtering at idle and eventually will die then you can start it again and it will do the same thing over and over again. You can start it quickly and put it in gear and get going and sometimes it will stay running and just come out of it but sometimes when you put it in gear and give it gas it will just die out and you have to start it again. It seems like it helps it stay running if you push the key and choke it but that always doesn't help either. Like I said eventually it will come out of it and you can get it to go and it will run 62-63 mph down the lake like nothing ever happened and have a really good hole shot. When it happens it is something that happens over time. When you start it first thing in the morning to take it off the trailer the quick start feature works just like it is supposed to and then it will kick off and sit and idle for 10-20 minutes at 800 rpm without missing a beat then take it out past no wake and floor it and it's gone like a bat out of hell. Go to your first spot fish for 20-30 minutes or an hour however long, start it up and it's just fine and still runs great, go to another spot and do the same thing over again and runs like a dream then maybe the 3rd or 4th time you try to start it and move to another spot it will throw one of the fits evenutally come out of it and run great again for a while or the rest of the day even you just never know. I have had the boat since March and the first 4-5 times I took it out it was flawless and never had a single problem then one day I was running to the ramp and the check engine light came on and starting beeping so i slowed down an idle and put it in neutral and it quit beeping and the alarm went off and it has never done that again since but it seems like that after that is when it started having the troubles but that could just be a coincidence of course. I have put on 2 new primer bulbs on it, a new fuel filter, new spark plugs, took the anti-siphon valves out of both of the gas tanks in the boat and I run sta-bil marine formula in it everytime I put gas in the tanks. The only 3 things I can think of that it could be now are the a) power-pak is weakening and going bad and sometimes loses spark and sometimes works fine and eventually will quit altogether, or b) the fuel pump is going bad, or c) 2 of the 3 visible black plastic carb bowls on one side of the motor are cracked and leaking fuel quite a bit. They are the 2 bowls on the top and the 3rd one is down below and not visible unless you take some side panels off and I have not done that. The other side of the motor is completely clean and leak free. I am thinking about buying 3 new carb bowls and installing them and see what happens but I would like to see if anyone else has ever had this problem or can help me troubleshoot the problem. Any help would be appreciated.