i went out and started it up just for giggles and now it idles at the proper 800 range. Dont know what happened, we did do alot of "bumping on the starter" last night, so maybe it confused the carb or something. thats the only thing i can think of.
Either way, the knock / tap is still there so the search continues tonight. I guess i am gonna go in thru the intake and see if there is something obvious.
