Hello,
Had the bike for 3 years, don't use it all that much. last year i did the petcock upgrade. had no issues at all, ran like a champ all last year.
took the bike out of the shed last weekend, and about 5 seconds after i turned the petcock on gas began to flow out of the bowl vent hose.
I assume this is a float stuck open. any ideas. I rapped on it a few times with the but of a screw driver, but still flowing.

I closed the petcock and ran it out of fuel before I put it away.

its the float! My bike had the float go bad and fill with gas. get a new float!

I do Gary's No. 2 method.  All fuel comes out and it is stored dry.  If the bike is stored in an insulated garage and doesn't get exposed to large temperature or humidity changes I don't believe there is much drying out of gaskets and seals between riding seasons.

If your bike is stored in a utility building or pole barn without any insulation and it gets really hot in the summer......rubber parts will deteriorate pretty badly.  I had a friend that had a set of new tires stored in his metal pole barn for 10 years while he slowly restored a car....and the new tires turned into brittle pieces of rubber.....you couldn't even bend or flex the tires they had become so hard.

If you have to do long term storage....find somebody that will store it in a heated basement for you (not a damp basement).