earthquake auger fuel problem, might be a simple small eng answer

I reciently bought an earthquake augger for drilling fence posts, it had bad gas in it, approx 120 days old ( I think a lot more ), it smelled like varnish, I cleaned it really well, new primer ball ( the old one was cracked and broken ),its just a little larger, but installed fine, not sure why, but its the only type that fit it ??
cleaned carbs out with carb cleaner, and cleaned fuel lines, new spark plug, flushed and filled with freash gas........it will only run for only about 5-10 seconds and if you hit the throdle it dies, I have to hit the primer ball about 5 times and it will start again, only for about 5 seconds , back to primer ball and run for 5 sec, you get the point, the fuel tank has a screw type vent I guess ?? should this be open ?? when I do prime I can see gas pumping thru the ball and back to the tank, well I see small bubbles that are moving, does this mean that air is somehow getting in and not letting the gas flow ??...................what should I check next, I need it working in a few days

edit to add....I was able to keep it running about 15 seconds if I hit the primer ball and pushed a little more gas in the carbs, dont know if this will affect the prognosis

thanks

 

If you didn't replace the fuel lines, I suggest doing so. Sounds like you may have a crack or pinhole in one. If, after tyhat, you still have problems, I'd open the air-fuel mixture screws a little and see what happens.

 

I had a similar problem. Actually there were 2 related problems with the fuel lines. The first is that inside the fuel tank there is a fuel line extension that slips off the little 2 line gromet. What a pain to get back on. The second problem was that the fuel line started to disintegrate after a few month and will just crumble to pieces when you try to work with it. Nice piece of equipment when it works. Looks like I will be replacing all the fuel lines. Just look inside the tank and make sure the feed line is attached... - Mike