i am a little confused. you said with the choke "off" and then you went on to say you had to take the spring off so you could open it enough for it to idle? the blade on the top is the choke. there is a blade on the bottom that is for the throttle. i would make sure the upper is open and the lower is closed all the way. if the throttle is closed all the way you should only be pulling gas through the idle circuit. but what do i know