Ok so since it was cold out today, and the car is sitting at my mothers...outside...I just replaced the fuel filter. Didn't fix the problem. BUT...

I discovered that my Reed valve assembly is smoking. I believe it's the Reed valve, but the Haynes manual only shows its picture once, and makes no note of it. It's on the exhuast though, and yeah it's smoking. While I kept my foot floored, it would run, and this thing was smoking. What is it and what does it do? Why would it be smoking?

Also, I want to rephrase a previous comment. When I floor the pedal, it seems like maybe the cable is strched out? Like it's not opening the throttle all the way. Could this just be a stretched cable? I noticed that the choke doesn't open...is this normal? As I said, I know nothing about carbs.