After getting the finish mower operational, I found the 284 didn't have the expected level of power. The little tractor must have developed a problem while in winter storage. After the work we did disking the garden, I knew I would have to address this problem. Two weeks ago I had cleaned and reinstalled the spark plugs but this apparently didn't help. I was afraid this might be a problem with the carburetor. So this morning I began a 3 point approach to diagnose the problem. First I would verify the firing sequence and checked to see that the spark plug cables were correctly installed, then replace the spark plugs with new ones and check the old ones for resistance, and finally, if those measures failed, remove the hood and pull the carburetor for cleaning. While in the process of checking the firing sequence, I found that one spark plug wire had a cut in it. I produced a replacement and still went ahead with the spark plug replacement. I also saw that the fuel line had some cracking around the end so I replaced it just in case it was allowing air to be drawn in with fuel. Those changes worked and now the little tractor pulls the bushhog as before. I look forward to trying the finish mower around the old house again soon.
The old spark plugs were checked with a multi-meter and found to be fine. With cleaning they will be ready for use in the future.
In other news, all the work to prepare the Troybilt tiller has paid off. It performed wonderfully for tilling the garden for the green beans and corn.
Inspection of the 55-66 didn't show any further fuel drippage so perhaps the lift pump replacement has solved that little problem.