I think I'm going to run it out to waxahachie lake real quick and see if the carb and plug cleaning cleared up the problem.

keep us posted.....and stay off of my pet fishys out there!!!

Did you vent your gas tank?

Go to harbor freight if theres one around you they have them for under $10 and worth every penny

I agree with Mike Bristow. He may be able to help you out. He has done work on my Yamaha and he will treat you fair.

Hachie, man you need to listen to all of this advise you are getting. You can do a lot of harm to that engine by running it and putting additives that you are not sure of. As far as the man at the auto parts store do not pay any attention to him. You need good advise from an outboard mechanic. This could be a minor problem that could explode on you and cost you a lot of money you don't need to spend. Take it to a reputable shop and pay them a little to check it out before you ruin what you have.

A lot of good advice and none of it wrong. But I think some of the simplest things that can cause major headaches have been neglected.

I think you will find that the motor specs calls for 91 octane. Using regular can cause startability and low speed problems. Change the thermostats. If they are stuck open the motor is running too cool, especially right now, and the motor will have incomplete combustion fouling the plugs causing startability and low speed problems. My 95 Mercs have diaphragm fuel pumps. I don't know about a Johnson but if it does, rebuild it. Stretched out diaphragms once again cause startability and low speed problems. Remove the plugs and spray with DeepCreep (aersol SeaFoam) let sit overnight and take it and a spare set of plugs to the nearest lake the next day. Keep it on the trailer until you get it started and it is running smooth. It will smoke like you've never seen before. Pull it out of the water and change the plugs. Change all filters, check to see if there is one under the engine cowling. If you have a fuel/water separator without a clear bowl, bite the bullet and upgrade to that. totally eliminates the "Do I have water in my fuel", question.

A good service shop will include most of these repairs (actually preventative maintenance) in some fashion. A lot of engine problems masquerade as carb problems but sometimes the real fix in addition to a carb job is ensuring correct fuel delivery and complete combustion in the cylinders.

Just curious where you take your siphoned gas to dispose of? Do any shops provide a siphon service? If so, I wonder how much?

PLEASE take the advice these people are giving you. It will be much cheaper that you think. When you blow the power head you will not be happy when you find out it was some thing you over looked your self, and if you would have taken it to a shop a tech would have found the problem fast and cheap. When I bought my boat I took it to have a compleat check and they found things that I would have over looked my self. It saved my power head. If you don't know what you are doing let some one that knows what they are ding do the job it will save a lot of money in the long run.