Was the engine converted over to carb before you got it, or was it done after you replaced the engine?
I got the impression it was like that when you got the car. Btw, I wasn't trying to insult your dad with the "not knowing what he was doing" comment if he's the one who slapped the carb. on.
I thought someone else did the swap. If your dad changed it over, he would know if a pressure regulator was added to the line. When running the factory electric pump with a carb., you need to add a regulator. I would check that first, you could have an overflow problem.
And if a carb that was just "sitting around" was put on, it might need a good rebuild, which would also include the accelerator pump. What carb is it that you have anyway?

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Just a quick heads up, If you are pumping the factory oringinal 15psi into a carb you are dumping raw gas into your intake when ever the key is on. This can cause hydra lock of your motor. Raw gas does not compress. You get 80cc of gas in a cylinder that only has a 73cc chamber and your motor is done for.

 

Isn't the pump still going to "prime" like normal, then shut off until the engine is running though? Without the engine running, the pump isn't getting a signal to keep running, unless it was hot-wired.

 

Oh he really knows his stuff but when it comes to anything of mine that I don't know anything about he just half asses it cause he doesn't care. So don't worry I didn't take offense to that. I'll have a look at it. It's a holley 650. My girlfriends dad and I popped another carb on it one time and it ran like a dream...then we took it off. Actually thinking of it now I do seem to remember a mechanical fuel pump...*shudders* so I guess I'm kinda screwed on getting TBI anyways...*sighs* I dunno though. I know it doesn't run worth a **** it pops and runs like a pos right now. and I know it originally had at least a TBI on it cause it had that Y air filter housing on it when I got it. It's in damn good shape though and I'd really like to get it running and have it as a DD at least as long as gas prices are down. I'll get a pic up before too long. its coated in dirt its been sitting for 5 years but that dirt is keeping the paint from fading

 

Ask around, and you'll get a lot ofopinions about carburetors. You know the usual..."Quadrajets are junk, Holleys are junk, Edelbrocks are junk." I guess that leaves you with no good carb at all to use!
But since you already have a Holley, you might as well take a good look at it. They're really not that hard to tune. One setting that can affect runnability in a huge way is your float level. Too low, and the carb will starve out as the rpm's rise. Too high, and it will flood out. The nice thing about the Holley is you can adjust the floats from the outside of the carb. I put clear site plugs on mine so that I can always see what it's doing. Choke adjustment is another thing to check. And if the carb has been sitting dry for a long time, it would be a good idea to rebuild it.
Holleys website has some good online instruction manuals: http://www.holley.com/TechService/Instructions.asp
Your model number will be stamped on the choke horn.

 

[blockquote]
Luckly for him its not a problem. You ever seen a carb with a stuck float that has an internal vent? Even a mechanical pump can pump enough gas for you tohydralock the motor and that only pumps while the motor is turning. Imagine if you gave the pump a ten second head start. The vent tub would look like a water fountain under 15 PSI. [/blockquote]