David,

Here's a test for to check if your petcock diaphragm is leaking fuel into the intake manifold:

Crimp the petcock vacuum line so that nothing can get through it.

Select PRI on your petcock and ride the bike.  If it runs good like that, you most likely have a leak in the petcock diaphragm that allows gas to leak directly into the intake manifold, causing a rich condition.

You can ride it like this, but don't forget to select ON or RES on the petcock before walking away from the bike.

Report back up w/ your findings, please - good luck!

IHTH!

 Ok so I installed the new petcock. Got my carb back from the guy doing the thorough cleaning and reinstalled everything. I did end up just using a screw with some liquid gasket to plug the vacuum line. Now it IS up and running but it's running like it's at almost full throttle when it's idling. When I give it some throttle it doesn't seem to change much other than a little sputtering.  Does that mean I've got something a little screwy inside the carb that's allowing too much through? When I reinstalled the jets I just screwed them in snug but not overly tight as it seemed that's the way they were in there before.

Thanks

I know I'm wrong,... but the symptom sounds like the petcock fuel line is routed to the vacuum tap on the carb instead of the fuel.  Fuel is on the left/shifter side,... vacuum is on the right/ brake side.

O.k.,... with that said, and not the problem, you have something very wrong in the carb, or the throttle cable is stuck or miss adjusted...

check the cable, did you push it all the way into the socket?

does it return all the way to the stop?

Next, open the top of the carb, make sure the spring is properly installed in the slide.

Take the air cleaner boot off and check the slide does it open easily?

sorry
take the boot off the carb from the air cleaner side.
reach in with your finger and check the slide action.
is it smooth?
is it sticky?

   Looks like with it running so hard and so rich while testing I killed the spark plug. That's obviously why it won't start now and could be part of some of the other issues. I'll grab a couple new ones tomorrow and start testing again. I know I need to get that fuel flow down or I'll keep fowling the plugs. The new petcock will stop the fuel filling it up while it's not running and I can figure out if there is a problem somewhere else.
 Had my mechanic friend take a look at the carb tonight and said everything seemed to be in order as far as he could tell but without it starting he can't get a better diagnosis. So more tomorrow.
Thanks again.

Tonight I'll replace the plug and see what happens.

 Before I took apart and cleaned the carb I have found the pilot jet sitting in the bowl when it first shut down on me during a long ride. But after cleaning I screwed it back in snug as well as the other jets. I did not check the numbers on them but they "looked" like the ones shown in photos and in the manual and were very clean.
 I replaced the petcock with the Raptor with a clean tank filter and added an in-line filter between the petcock and the carb. So I don't think anything has gone into the newly cleaned carb and clogged it but it's always a possibility.
 If replacing the plug gets me running again I'll try and tune the carb a little better and see what happens. If I'm still dying out at low throttle or stuck at half throttle going up I'll pull the carb again and do a check. If it's still clean I'm going to have to take it in to a professional. However I may have a long time mechanic/teacher coming over this evening to fiddle and diagnose with me. He's the type who can usually listen to an engine and tell you exactly what's wrong with it and he has experience with older bikes.
 I realize you guys may have been able to help me out a little more with a video so next time I'll find a place to upload a video and link it here.
 I'll let you know what happens tonight.