Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): Mower idling very high then shutting off., briggs and stratton, throttle shaft

Question

engine tag   A neighbor who was moving in gave me a mower they found in their garage. It started right up, but it idled extremely fast/high and actually worried me a little. Then it died. It will start right up again, run for about 15 seconds at a really high rate, then die. I don't know much about engines, but I imagine it's maybe a governor?
It's a Briggs and Stratton engine 5BSXS.1581VG

Thanks for the help!

Answer
The engine should have an air vane governor.  Most likely something is binding or sticking causing the engine to run too fast.  Remove the air cleaning and see if you can move the carubretor throttle shaft by hand.  It should move back and fourth very easy.

Watch this video and see if this is the carb you have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzpSy5CJL6k

Eric