Toro Mower with Tecumseh engine

Hi,

I bought an Toro mower with a Tecumseh engine at a sale and when I tried to start it the throttle butterfly was gummed up, so I cleaned the carb, and it starts and only run a few sec, so I know that it is not getting enough fuel in the bowl. However I cleaned it good and all the ports are open, but I have having a hard time setting the needle valve to get good flow once I put the bowl on. I have good flow at about the low float level when the bowl is off , but once I put the bowl on it is starving. I have adjust and rebuilt many carbs before and never had this issue. Scratching my head.

Also, the primer bulb is dry rotted , so it is allowing air in through the rubber. Will that do it?

Proper float height on Tecumseh is when you can slide a 11/64 drill bit between the carb body and the float opposite the float pin. Cracked primer bulb won't cause the problem that you are having, just make it not prime properly and make it hard to start.