doesn't have the choke on AFAIK. the lever is there but i don't think it's working. there's no change in RPM if i have it in either position. i've never seen gas dripping from the carbs either. maybe it matters, maybe not, but would very dirty air filters contribute to this problem? i don't know when the 3x carbs were installed so can't say how long it's been run in the current config but they do look pretty dirty. i wouldn't doubt that they're still original.