On the carburetor, I have several of the ZAMA produced Walbro clones from D Dave. They run very well, but the venture seems a little tighter than an HD-16 even though the incoming port is the same size.
I'm thinking they may be prefect for a 440, but the hybrids may need a little more air/fuel. My thought is the additional volume (flow) of the hybrid will allow me to open up the venture a bit and still create sufficient vacuum to pull the fuel.
My ported hybreds seem to be limited in RPMs and I'm thinking this may be why.
Thanks for the offer on the HD-50 Al, but I already have one here. I had purchased 2 from D Dave, and the only saw that liked it was the ported 460 you did for me. All my working Walbro's are in use, but maybe I should pull one from another saw and see if it makes a difference.
FYI, my "unsnorkled" ZAMAs (that came on early 044s) also seem to have a tight venture, but they don't have that fuel tube protruding, so it may be a wash. My testing with my 10 mm 044 did not show any improvement with a snorkel Walbro carb.
Back to Taxes for now, but the wheels are turning!