88 9.9hp evinrude problems.

ok this is gonna be a long story so here it goes. I bought this motor few years ago. i bought off a guy he said it runs but has not been run in a year. so i brought it home. stuck it in the barrel and hooked up the gas tank primed it up and 2nd pull off and running. ran great. used it the rest of the year. no problems. used it about half the next year no problems. one day we was fishing. been running and starting great. 1st or 2nd pull when its cold, one when its warm. we ran across the lake. came to a cove idled down and idled along for a few minutes and shut it off. fished for a hour of so. went to start it. and it wouldnt hit, must have pulled it a couple dozen times. let it sit for 30 min or so and pulled on it some more. finally got it started. ran great. couple days later i put it in the barrel and primed it up and pulled it a couple dozen times before it started. pulled carb apart and ordered a new kit. soaked in carb cleaner overnight cleaned every passage with fine wire and carb cleaner and air. put it all together same thing. this is what i have done. rebuilt carb. cleaned 3 or 4 times. rebuilt fuel pump. linkage sync. changed plugs. compression is 100 on both cylinders. i have used the gas tank on other outboards and have had no problems. as of now it will start in 6 or 7 pulls hot or cold. any suggestions???? what to do next? ignition system?

Thanks
Steve

My bet is failing ignition. You can get an inline spark tester pretty cheap, to verify before you order expensive parts.

pappy is probably right, I am used to points, not new fangled EI systems.

Another quick test would be to squirt a little (very little) gas into the carb & then try to start. If it has a manifold coverr, put it back on & have fire ext handy, of course. If you have a fuel supply problem, it should be an obvious difference.

If that model has the plastic top cover check it for hairline cracks. I had a 89 15hp that had the exact same symptoms, ended up being a near microscopic crack along the needle jet.