Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): B&S starting problem, brass screw, little holes

Question
Have Craftsman 6.75MBS mower.  Won't start.  Cleaned float container.  Seems that rubber push choke is just pushing air and not gas.  Put some starter fluid in it and it started temporarily.  Should i clean carb, and what is best practice?  Model# 917.38898  Serial# 041206m005814

Thanks, Vin

Answer
If it ran with either than it is defiantly not getting gas! Yes you should pull the carb of,make sure you do it on a table or something because you will have a lot of small parts you don't want to lose! Once you have it of,you need to disconnect the float bowl.Then you are right inside it and you will see a float held on with a pin. Push the pin out and remove the float.There is a needle valve somewhat attached to the float,don't lose it! Try to blow air from where the gas hooks up and see if it comes through where the needle valve was? Next you will want to remove any and all jets that it might have(little brass screw) and make sure they have little holes through them.These usually clog up with gunk and cause your problem! You have to clean them so that you can see light looking through them!Sometimes with the smaller ones you may need to try to push something through to get it clean.I usually use one strand of a piece of say 18gauge wire(strip it and take a strand) because some jets only have a very small hole witch is why its so easy for any gunk to block them! Once you get that done,put it all back together and hook it up! Just to get a siphon back I like to squirt a little starting fluid into it and then wallah,You should have a running machine! If any of this seems to complicated I would have it serviced by a professional.Hope this helps,

Jason