[westofb]

Glad it worked out for you, I haven't had that problem with a mower before, but had it happen several times on sb chevy's....but the symptoms you posted, lead me to believe that was your problem. I have used the small lawn mower gas filters, most of the time the ones I get are red in color, they are very small, I am guessing off top of my head, but am thinking they only require removing about 1/2" of fuel line to get them in place. You could order a new tank shut off valve, I got one from Patton Acres for around $10, and replumb your fuel system. The shut off vavles he has have a screen that goes inside the tank to catch larger pieces of sediment, the small filter would catch the rest. I usually change out the small filters on my equipment spring and fall, they are cheap (around $2.00 or less), they have barbed fittings on them and if your fuel lines are in good shape, they fit tight enough that they don't require any clamps(since they fit tightly in the fuel line, they are a bit of a pain to get them off, though)!