Finally had some time to spend fiddling with the choke and throttle linkage and I feel like I’ve hit the sweet spot. After bending the arms to the nozzle, adjusting the linkage and cable slack I now have some throttle control with the choke lever. At full “pull” I get the enrichment needed on cold start then can ease off that to a leaner mix while still giving some throttle. No more babysitting while it’s warming up!  From dead cold I can give it full choke, crank it up, let it run till it stumbles then ease off the choke to more of a high idle setting. Let it run like that for a few minutes then I can take off with no issues. 
I still have the vacuum leak from worn shafts but have temporarily mitigated them with a light greasing, I am looking forward to the Ztherapy carbs coming in October.

@SteveJ I’d like to meet up sometime, looks like you have a great Z network not too far from me. 

Many of us will be at Road Atlanta this weekend for the Mitty. Saturday may be somewhat a washout, but I'll have the Z there on Friday and Sunday.

Damn the luck...  I’m headed out of town for the weekend. Maybe next time.