Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): riding mower fuel \start issue, oreiley auto parts, fuel additive

Question
I have an older MTD..during the summer when I started it often I would see gas spurt out from under the end where the exhaust attaches. It would start and run and the gas would stop. But by the end of summer it would no longer start and quite a bit of gas spurts up through the carb when I try to start it and the front end. It will start but only run for a few moments before it stalls

Thanks

Answer
Daniel
Since I have no clue what carburetor or engine you have here is some type of help
You float may be sticking or there is dirt in the seat.take the needle out and check the seat and make sure there is no debris keeping the needle from closing on the seat to seal it of when the float reaches the full height
Take off the carburetor and soak the carburetor in some Chem-Dip you can get from O’Reiley auto-parts. Leave the carburetor in the Chem-Dip for 24 hours and it will clean the carburetor like it was new. Wash out the carburetor and refit to the engine. Fuel up, adding some Sta-Bil fuel additive (over-winter with fuel in the tank with Sta_Bil and this gumming problem will never happen again). Happy mowing.