Every 2000 series Cud Cadet with a fuel problem I have worked on ended up being crud in the fuel tank.
Three quartes of the overheating problems encounted with 2000 series Cub Cadets ended up being crud in the fuel tank.
Because it is a such a PIA to pull the rear fenders off, seat off & tank out people refuse to believe that tank can be a problem but it is.
Big tank that breathes through the big low fuel cap sucks a lot of dust that builds up around the outlet pipe, some of which look like they were not formed properly and are quite small.
Add the odd bit of grass and you will get a fuel blockage that oft takes 15 minute to an hour to choke the engine.
Very simple test.
With the tank no more than 1/2 full, remove the fuel cap and blow compressed air down the feed line to the fuel pump for a good minute or so.
If the problem goes away for a day or so, it is crud blocking the fuel outlet.
This is not a fix because all the crud will eventually find its way back to the outlet again.
Although I do have one cantankerous old ***** who won't pay me the 3 hours it takes to do the job and won't do it himself so he just blows the tank when it is a problem.
Says he has to do it 4 or 5 times a season & he mows about 3 acres on his 5 acre lot with this mower.
I have drilled out 4 or 5 of these tanks as there are a lot of Cubs in my run.
Worked it out by accident when doing a head job and noiced here was no where near enough fuel in the feed line and when finished we noticed it had fallen to the floor but was not draining fuel out.
Being new to Cubs we made the assumption that there must be a cut off solenoid at the tank "what excellent quality " but no when I checked there is no cut off and when we did the tyres we pulled the tank and there was a lot of crud stuck in the neck thatthe fuel line attaches to.
Cleaned that out with the hook end of my trusty Tecumseh carb tool , that oddly enough has never been used on a Tecumseh carb, drained the tank, pulled the tank. ran the pressure washer through it and it blocked up again. Took 2 or 3 cleaing cycles to come good.
Got the Dremel tool out & removed a lip & moulding fin from the outlet neck , enlarged and smoothed out the hole .
Problem Solved.
This mower will now work all day and oft does.
During Summer they will run near 60 gallons through it in a day ( 2145 with CH 640 ) and it won't miss a beat.
That caused them to go searching for another and they got one cheap because it had a "mystery overheating problem" which sure enough was cured the same way.
So far I have had one TIme Cutter come in with the same symptoms & it was the same problem although Toro has done a better job with their side mounted tank with a higher filler neck they still get a lot of grass clippings in there which get snagged on the outlet.
And Jack, I would bet London to a house brick, your vapour lock will be the same problem.
So try giving the tank a blow and see if it makes a difference.