Thanks BC,
The last few days I have turned into an avid fan of your website! I didn't see the Airbox sealing part before, Thanks for the link!
--yesterday I checked the plugs and they were fried! After replacing them, cleaning the airfilter and airbox, adjusting the idle, the bike runs better, but still died twice on the way home when sitting at a light. Almost like it bogs at a low RPM. Im riding to work and will see how she runs tonight.
--I am ordering the carb O-rings and searching for a petcock.
"GGGGary"--To answer your comment, I am waiting to install the O-rings before I call Ray for a carb sync, (i plan to do this last)
Fear not mate!
As rustybronco has stated earlier in the thread, my 79 850 was a pain in the chuff for over a year, ran exactly as you describe. Patience, diligence and perseverence will pay off big time. It did for me, still not 100% yet but now it's just tweaking the setup (I hope). There's no excuse, you have to cover all the basic stuff that's already been listed out for you. When all that's done, only then can you track down what else is amiss.
Stick with it and don't be afraid to ask.