Quote: ''This has been converted to 12V negative ground which contributes to just an average spark due to the coil having its' polarity reversed from design (or so I am told).''Hmm. Sounds like something a seller would say to disguise a worn out engine! The coil having its polarity reversed should not make THAT much difference If you've adjusted the carb out per Dell's procedure, and it responded properly as you made the adjustments, you've almost (but not quite) elimated the carb as the source of your problem. To quickly check the governor: start the engine and grab the rod that runs to the carb and controls the butterfly valve. Try to move the rod; it should ''fight'' you. If it doesn't, you've found your problem. Governor ok? Check the fuel flow by pulling the plug on the bottom of the carb. You should see a good steady flow about the diameter of the fuel line. Fuel flow ok? Check the spark yourself. Take a good spark plug and bend the electrode out to 3/16 inch. Clamp it to ground and hook a spark line onto it (only remove one at a time! Don't mix them up!). You should see a fat, blue spark on all four cylinders. (Many people automatically replace the ignition switch at this point, whether the spark looks good or not; Ford ignition switches are VERY problematic and tricky to check properly with a voltmeter or test light.) All these things check out? Quickly evaluate your compression. Everybody has their favorite method. I like a hand crank, but if one isn't available, crank using the starter with ignition off. If all four cylinders don't sound pretty much the same as the starter pushes them past TDC, you might want to run a more scientific compression test. Finally, borrow a carburetor from a tractor that is known to run well (neighbors and parts counter guys know where they are) and substitute it for yours. If the problem goes away, the carb is once again suspect. Over the internet, it is difficult to diagnose a problem that is apparent when one can see, smell, and feel the tractor. But the above tests can be run very quickly, and will isolate most common problems with the Ford (or other) tractor.
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