1984 Honda TRX 200 - Sporatic Starting

[spill]

ive had this little bike for a very long time and always worked great, start first pull every time, recently i was driving it and it started running rough when i was almost home, it died as soon as i pulled in the driveway ( no spark ) i fixed that problem ( i have tons of parts ) but it still wouldnt start, a couple days ago i went out and gave it one pull and it took right off, i had to hold the throttle open a bit but it was cold out and i didnt use the choke so i expected to have to do that, i let off the gas and it stalled, i left it sit for about 20 minutes and went back out to try again and it wouldnt start, so i took the carb off and cleaned it pretty good, still wouldnt start, went out yesterday and it started right up, i kept it going for about 10 mins by holding the throttle, its running a little rough but not too bad, i let it stall then tried it again and it started no problem ( about 5 or 6 times in a row) so i walked away thinking just need to tune the carb a bit, tried it last night and today and it wont start again, one thing i did notice is that i dont need to use the decomp valve every time i pull it ( sometimes every time, sometimes i can pull it 20 times before it needs it again) keep in mind the motor is in pretty good shape, it doesnt smoke and when the decomp is doing what its supposed to it will rip the cord out of your hand if you dont use it, anyone have any suggestions?? im about to lose it, im leaning toward a broken valve spring or a bent valve, oh yeah, when you pull the choke on with the breather unhooked, you can see gas shooting out of the back of the carb, any help would be great thanks

[oxidized_black]

fuel is flowing well and spark is always present? you might be on the right track checking the valves, hopefully none are damaged, just need to be adjusted ...

[spill]

even though it had good fire, i put a new plug in it and seems to work fine, will see in a few days of starting it up here and there if that was the problem

[oxidized_black]

i have always run a hotter plug in the Canadian winters ... if you use ngk, go down 1 number for the hotter plug, but remember to change it out when the warmer weather hits ...

[spill]

i have always ran an 8, they seem to work well for all seasons, im from nova scotia so -10 is about the average temp for winter