ezgo 1994 engine starting, rev'ing, and then dying out

[ridge35]

bought a ezgo '94 gas, as a fixer upper, and the engine will start, accelerate, and then die back out. i can keep it going if i manipulate the throttle and choke together, but it acts like it is starving for something, i just cant tell what.

on its own, it acts similar to what would happen if i were to shoot a bit of starter fluid into an engine without fuel, it revs up and then dies out.

it also seems like it has a bit too much vibration as well.

oddly, it will run a bit better and longer in reverse than forward.

i have it on blocks so there is no resistance on the engine

i also didnt trust the oil injector when i bought it, so i unhooked it and manually mixed my oil at about 128:1

i have already unhooked the air intake from the manifold to make sure it is getting enough air and there wasnt a blockage

any thoughts or experience would be greatly appreciated, and i can record an mp3 audio file of what it is doing if that would help