get a flashlight and give that piston a look in the intake, rotate the crank to get the piston up to where you can see it all, look for scarring and gouges, light scratches will be fine
i use high temp copper perma-gasket in a tube, a light coat on both sides of the intake gasket and the intake itself where it seals to the reedcage
just a light coat, not globs that will squeeze out into the intake, let cure before running it, overnight is best
do not over tighten those intake bolts, main jet, pilot jet, or carb bowl screws, they all luv to strip very easily
skip your wheaties that morning, LOL
and be sure to put the brass washer back under the main jet, then slide the white plastic splash gaurd down over it
I will need to see pics of that, I have no idea what you're talking about with the washer and the splash guard....could it be my carb just didn't have them?
Thanks for jumping in too, I was trying to be very meticulous with my description. I'm definitely going to have to add that carb cleaning routine to my sig so I can find it for reference.