4100 struggles

Greetings... I wanted to see if anyone might have some suggestions for some problems I have been having.

I have a '65 Mustang 289 that was originally a 2-barrel car. When I bought the car, it came with a 4100 labled with a CZ5F-B plate that was rebuilt and restored to new by Pony Carbs - but it was done in 1996, and has sat wrapped up in a box for about 13 years without being put on the car.

I performed the switch and got the car started, but battled timing troubles that I thought I had traced to a worn-out distributor. I actually believe those problems may have been solved, because when I replaced the distributor, the car started, tuned and ran for an hour. But I shut it off, came back 20 minutes later to drive it, and the car wouldn't start and has not now for about two weeks despite several attempts. It has started a couple times and run for a few minutes at a time, but I cannot keep it going or get it started again once I shut it off.

So now, I think I am battling some sort of fuel/flooding problem. Last week a friend found what we believe was a vacuum leak caused by a hose clamp not allowing the spacer to sit properly. However, we have additional concerns in that the gaskets between the spacer, manifold and carb, and also the spacer itself, are becoming extremely saturated with fuel. Also, when I last took the carb off the car last week, the top gasket that covers the bowls was also completely soaked with fuel. It's my understanding that these gaskets should usually be mostly dry. For what it's worth, we have been trying to start it with the automatic choke wide open, as it does not work properly at the moment.

I have ordered a 4100 rebuild kit from NPD that I am expecting to arrive today. I was of the feeling, and had several other people suggest this as well, that the carb rebuild was done so long ago that I would be better off replacing some of the rubber parts in the carb. However, I have never done anything inside a carb before, and will be performing this as a complete novice.

I was wondering if anyone here might have some suggestions as to what, if anything, might be wrong with the carb... what I should look for, what I should replace with the rebuild kit, and any other general wisdom that might help me get this thing running again.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.