So I ended up replacing the carburetor with a brand new edelbrock 1406. Turns out the old one wasn't just full of crud, it was worn out. The throttle plate would not even seat all the way. Thought about rebuilding or buying re-manufactured, but was wooed by a brand new one. No more plugging, no more too fast idle, no more hesitation. Getting way better gas mileage. Not sure of the actual numbers but I can say I am seeing around 20% increase in gas mileage. The speedometer reads about 15 mph slow so I can't trust the odometer, but apples to apples I am getting about 20% better numbers. I went with the edelbrock again so as to ease installation. Everything is already in place.