Okay.. I have a 1986 Johnson 200 VRO (STL200CDR, I believe) on the back of my Ranger 391V. Last month, I noticed the motor skipping a bit during a tournament, but nothing outrageously noticeable. I didn't really think about it again, and went to the lake two weeks later, same thing, but not bad. Last week, I went to the lake with my partner, and the boat was awful. It would run, and miss (felt like the motor was only getting fuel in spurts) constantly. Backstory, my motor has never wanted to fire right up, it would take me upwards of 5+ minutes to get it cranked, plugs were checked, etc.

So, back to the story, after the final fishing trip, I pulled the carbs and shot carb cleaner through them. With the front cover to the carbs off, I pumped the fuel bulb to crank it to see if that helped. Low and behold, we heard air leaking out around the GB tie that held the fuel line to the fuel pump (obviously this would make it skip). We cut the old end off, and retied it to the motor.

Saturday, I got to the lake, held the choke for 10seconds, turned her over, and boom, crankage! Made a five mile run, perfect. Made another five mile run, great! Cranked her back up, miss, miss, miss, miss, miss... I do not hear any leaks...

What should I check? Need a lil help, guys...

Cliffnotes: Motor was a mule to crank, missed (sounded like it was only getting fuel in spurts while running), fixed fuel line air-leak, ran great. Now missing again, need help.