1983 50 hp Mariner Idles Too High

[jjangler2020]

I replaced the stator and trigger due to rotted wires. I decided to rebuild the carbs. I did not change the position of the pickup cam on either carb. Afterwards the throttle had to be set high for it to run at all. I found two coil wires reversed going to the switch box that I had not even taken off. I swapped them and it could now run at normal low end throttle without dying. I tuned the idle mixture screws according to my owner's manual. I checked the low idle at 1780 rpm in forward after warming up, but it is supposed to be 600-700 rpm.
Is there a need to have to time the engine? How could the RPMs at low idle be this far off if the linkage was not changed? Thanks in advance.

 

[racerone]

Well it sounds like the previous owner adjusted idle speed to keep in running on 2 cylinders.----So now you have to find the idle stop screw and adjust for proper idle RPM.