2001 yamaha vmax ox66 150 wont start back up

Was out on the lake today and my motor started giving me trouble. It started rift up and ran fine we stopped and fished for awhile and when I tried to leave the motor would start up then die. Started it up again and it sputtered and died like it was starving for gas. Primed ball and same thing. Finally when I started it up again I thee it in gear and it ran. Ran great while running around the lake but when I tried to start it again same thing all over again. Got it running again by throwing it in gear and ran fine back to the ramp. Any ideas?

Anybody?

Mine has been doing the same thing. I can get it to start by trimming the motor up. I am thinking it may be the needle valve in the VST box, or low fuel pressure from the high pressure fuel pump. I am going to be checking that this weekend. Others I know have been having the same issue. This may be related to the ethanol in the fuel?????

It's 10 years old, have you replaced/rebuilt the low pressure fuel pumps lately? What about the fuel lines, have you checked them, and the bulb, to be sure they are ok, not de-laminating inside? If there is delamination, you'll need to clean out the entire fuel system.

Yes, I would also recommend checking the entire fuel system. The low pressure fuel pumps are easy to check. Just loosen them and pump the bulb. If they leak any fuel you will either need to replace or re-build them. I wouldn't run it hard until you have this figured out.