Briggs engine on Toro recycler mower is possessed

[Chipg1956]

On these mowers I have seen the choke rod getting bent and binding on the cover. I have also seen where the metal tab between the muffler and the thermostatic unit has been bent throwing the choke adjustment off.

 

[bwright1818]

I have also found that all of the mowers no matter the brand that have an auto choke have a tendency for the butterflies to close whenever they want even if the mower is warmed up. And if the mower has a kill when you empty the bag it can be quite a hassle to pull the breather, stick something in the carb to hold the butterfly open to restart it. To combat this, I take a stiff piece of wire (like a pin flag) cut and bend it to roughly 90°, attach it to the carb mounting screws and use the bent end to hold the butterfly open. Yes you may have to pull the rope a few times extra to start it cold, but after it's warm..no problems. I have owned a lawn care company for 17 years and started with Toro Recyclers as they were cheaper, and had that problem with all of them. Have since swapped them out with Hondas. They had the same problem. I despise auto-chokes. Used the same trick, they run like crazy.
Not saying that this is your problem, just something to consider. Good luck.

Thanks for that info! I don't seem to have a problem restarting mine yet, but that's really good to know. So, this picture was ultimately my running solution. The thing runs beautifully, now. In the picture, you can see a 1/16" hole in the middle and one on the outer perimeter. I drilled these two myself. The new cap I got had no vent in it, either. The tank has no vent, so I really think I had a mismatched setup. The cap is hollow and two-piece. the two holes let the tank vent from the tank to the outside, passing the air through the hollow part of the cap. You don't see any hole when the cap is installed. Now if I can just stop the grass and leaves from blasting out at the inside of the right front wheel.....