Hello all, just want to make sure I am on the right track. This is the first engine I have ever torn into so I want advice before I tear it up. I have a evinrude 9.9 1987 that I bought and the owner said ran great 
. When I fire the engine up, it runs for 3 to 4 seconds then dies. Now if I during this time pull and push and pull and push and pull and push the choke off and on the engine will continue to sputter and run for sometimes a minute or more. Now I did the basics and checked that the fuel pump was indeed pumping to the carb. Then I took the carb apart and found alot of gunk in the bowl. I soaked the carb in seafoam for about two hours then proceeded to clean the carb out with cleaner and finally I blew it out with compressed air. After reinstalling the carb it does almost the same thing. I would say it seems to run a couple of seconds longer but not much. I have taken it back apart to let the carb soak overnight but wanted to see if there was something else to try. Also I tried the pump the primer bulb trick while the engine was running and that made no difference. Thanks for the help.
. When I fire the engine up, it runs for 3 to 4 seconds then dies. Now if I during this time pull and push and pull and push and pull and push the choke off and on the engine will continue to sputter and run for sometimes a minute or more. Now I did the basics and checked that the fuel pump was indeed pumping to the carb. Then I took the carb apart and found alot of gunk in the bowl. I soaked the carb in seafoam for about two hours then proceeded to clean the carb out with cleaner and finally I blew it out with compressed air. After reinstalling the carb it does almost the same thing. I would say it seems to run a couple of seconds longer but not much. I have taken it back apart to let the carb soak overnight but wanted to see if there was something else to try. Also I tried the pump the primer bulb trick while the engine was running and that made no difference. Thanks for the help.