Motor won't stay on; fuel line fitting from fuel pump to carburetor?

[Ck111484]

Motor is a carbureted OMC Cobra 5.0 (Ford 302) I/O.
I had it running beautifully in the driveway about a week ago, so I went to the lake on Friday to test the boat out on the water and it wouldn't start. It cranks and catches no problem, but instantly dies, like it's not getting fuel. It will run (poorly) as long as you're turning the key, but immediately dies when you're not turning the starter. It's acting like my jetskis do when the fuel is off.
I checked and the fuel pump is pumping out plenty of fuel, and I replaced the fuel filter to no avail. Checked out the fuel line from the coil to the carb and found this:

That's the fitting connecting the hard fuel line to the carb. It's got a little screen filter, which was fairly clogged up with gunk; I'm not sure whether or not it was coming off like it is in the picture when it was installed, or if I dislodged it with pliers while I was inspecting the gunk.
So, I'm thinking that
A) The gunk on the screen was preventing fuel from getting to the carb, or
B) If it was dislodged, some gunk got through the screen into the carb and clogged something.
Either of these theories seem to fit the symptoms.

So I'm planning on replacing that fitting, and if that doesn't work, pulling the carburetor and having it cleaned/rebuilt.
Unfortunately, that fitting is only available from OMC in a $50 carburetor repair kit, which I'd rather not buy if I don't have to.

So I'm wondering; does that fitting look like something fairly common that I could find somewhere other than the manufacturer (ie. universal)? Would a universal fitting have a screen filter like that? I'm assuming the screen is important as it did have gunk in it.
Any recommendations?
Thanks!

 

[BonairII]

Re: Motor won't stay on; fuel line fitting from fuel pump to carburetor?

You're most likely going to have to clean and/or rebuild your carb if gunk got in. I would just buy the kit. Even if you don't need it now....you will eventually. It's still cheaper than going thru the time/expense of trying to search for a "cheaper" solution to your problem.

 

[cr2k]

Re: Motor won't stay on; fuel line fitting from fuel pump to carburetor?

If it only runs with the key in the start position you have an electrical problem. Put a volt meter on the + side of the coil and see if there is power when the key is on. You may have a bad resister wire. Boost power is added when cranking (yellow w/red I think) and key power is purple but may run thru a brown (I think) resister wire.

 

[Ck111484]

Re: Motor won't stay on; fuel line fitting from fuel pump to carburetor?

If it only runs with the key in the start position you have an electrical problem. Put a volt meter on the + side of the coil and see if there is power when the key is on. You may have a bad resister wire. Boost power is added when cranking (yellow w/red I think) and key power is purple but may run thru a brown (I think) resister wire.

Thanks for the reply!
Pardon my ignorance, but is the resistor wire in the ignition coil, or in the boat's electrical harness? Ie., if the resistor wire is bad, would replacing the coil fix the issue? Or do I need to have to get into the harness wiring?