Briggs-stratton 5-4993 walbro

Im back to troubleshoot my Briggs and Stratton lawn mower. I checked in here a few days ago thinking I had a bad ignition coil on my hands. The engine turns over but I get no ignition. However, the consensus was that the ignition coil is probably okay as they are pretty reliable. So I’m trying to explore other options. I’m thinking maybe it could just be down to bad fuel?
The mower apparently died years ago after running for a while and just stopping. The fuel pump’s (one of those walbro 3 screw guys) gasket was shot. I rebuilt that and was thinking I may be good to go. However, after giving it a shot of starting fluid, still nothing.
The tank seemed empty but it seems like there is still fuel in the system. I just noticed that there is fuel pumping from somewhere (I removed the top of the carb and cranked it over and fuel spit out of the hole. So how dead on is it that this 3-4 year old fuel in the line may just be the culprit? Is there a good chance that bad fuel, even when giving a shot of starting fluid, would cause no ignition?
I assume it’s definitely not helping. So I should get it out of there right? Or could I maybe just throw a gallon of good fuel in the almost empty system and expect the mix to be good enough? Even if I had to drain the carb after a few tries. Again, just looking for some ideas on what to try, determined to get it going. Thanks again in advance!

The mower is a murray 425001x8. I installed a new belt per the part number on the mower but the deck belt seems way to loose. Even after adjusting the pto lever so the spring is extended as far as it can go. Please advise.

• note that the mowers previous belt popped before I got the mower. So I don't have much of a reference.

Issue number two is that the mower will not charge the battery. Not super familiar with riders so any advice is appreciated.
Lastly the mower misfires and backfires like crazy. I cleaned carb, changed spark plug, new filter, hoses and got rid of bad gas. At night you can see flames intermittently coming out of exhaust. Any thing else I need to try to fix this?
Edit: Engine is 17.5HP Briggs and Stratton I/C with a walbro carb on it.

Okay, so I usually enjoy figuring out and diagnosing on my own, but I’m stumped on this.
It’s a 2003 Troy Bilt Pony 779 17.5hp B&S Intek riding mower I purchased a few months ago off Facebook marketplace for $100.
The OE 42” deck was rotted out, so I replaced it with a 38” deck off some other random MTD I got for cheap.
I bought it because the tractor itself runs strong as all hell. It’s been okay so far, but it’d die after about 45 minutes of running. From what I gathered, it was the fuel cutoff solenoid, so this weekend I said screw it, it’s a good mower, and treated it to a full blown tune up.
What I replaced today:

• Replaced fuel line and added inline fuel filter & cut off switch
• OE B&S spark plug
• Oil Change
• Air filter
• Carburetor * purchased a ROP Auto Express carb part number #X001DETCA7 via Amazon.
• Added an hour meteTach

Carbs looked the same. Had a hell of a time starting it. That’s when I realized the aifuel mixture screw was almost backed off on new carb.adjusted it in. Finally turned over, runs strong at roughly 3200 rpm, no surging or back firing. Under PTO, runs strong at a constant 3600 rpm.
It cut and ran beautifully, for about 5 minutes. Then? Dead.
I still get strong cranking, with no start.
Things I’ve done so far:
Spark is good, verified with tester. Fuel level is good, tried without fuel cap to make sure tank is venting, still nothing. Fuel delivery is good, pulled line off carb, tons of flow.
I’m at a loss. It’s something to do with the carb, maybe needle, but wtf, it’s a new carb entirely. I mean, I run an automotive shop, so I’m used to stuff being defective out of the box, but why would it run for a few, then decide to die? No incline difference either.
Any insight is appreciated!
https://imgur.com/a/A9CNHZF
UPDATE
Fixed!!
So I did some more homework. My Tory Bilt Pony came with a Waldo carb, model number 4993. After my first replacement carb from Amazon failed to run for 5 minutes, I figured it to be that stupid fuel cut off solenoid. I had found that carb by looking up carburetors for a Briggs 17.5hp Intek.
Soooo.... I went back to Amazon.
This time, I simply searched for a Walbro 4993. One of the top picks was another $15 knock off, but, this one had no fuel cut off solenoid hanging off the bottom of the bowl. I ordered that one, bolted it up, and she fired up on the first try.
Just got done spending an hour mowing, intentionally going slow to see how long it’d run, etc. performed flawlessly.
Now, that solenoid is there to cut fuel when the key is turned off. Because of how I am with small engines, carburetors, etc, I installed my own fuel cutoff valve within easy reach, and about a minute before I’m done, I kill that valve and let the carb clean rid itself of any fuel, so the solenoid is useless in my application anyway.
Thanks everyone for the tips and advice, hopefully this will someday help someone else with their Troy Bilt Pony riding mower issues!

The mower is a MTD Yard Machines with a Briggs and Stratton gas engine.
The Carburetor has "Walbro" stamped on one side, "4993" stamped on the other side near the top left, "LMT" stamped near the bottom left. And "00:18 [first line] 1534 L2 [second line] 97203 [third line]" stamped toward the middle.
I -think- it's a Walbro LMT 4993, which makes sense and I've googled that but I'm still not 100%. Don't want to buy a part online only to find out it's wrong or it's some knock off that causes more damage.
Also looking also for a reliable, hopefully good priced, store to buy it from (online or brick and motor).
Thanks.

The mower is a MTD Yard Machines with a Briggs and Stratton gas engine.
The Carburetor has "Walbro" stamped on one side, "4993" stamped on the other side near the top left, "LMT" stamped near the bottom left. And "00:18 [first line] 1534 L2 [second line] 97203 [third line]" stamped toward the middle.
I -think- it's a Walbro LMT 4993, which makes sense and I've googled that but I'm still not 100%. Don't want to buy a part online only to find out it's wrong or it's some knock off that causes more damage.
Also looking also for a reliable, hopefully good priced, store to buy it from (online or brick and motor).
Thanks.

The mower is a MTD Yard Machines with a Briggs and Stratton gas engine.
The Carburetor has "Walbro" stamped on one side, "4993" stamped on the other side near the top left, "LMT" stamped near the bottom left. And "00:18 [first line] 1534 L2 [second line] 97203 [third line]" stamped toward the middle.
I -think- it's a Walbro LMT 4993, which makes sense and I've googled that but I'm still not 100%. Don't want to buy a part online only to find out it's wrong or it's some knock off that causes more damage.
Also looking also for a reliable, hopefully good priced, store to buy it from (online or brick and motor).
Thanks.

I have a Walbro LMR-3 carb on my lawn boy. I am trying to get it to start this year and I noticed the fuel filter (Lawn Boy 612974) was pretty dirty and I cant seem to get the end of clean. Is it ok to replace this with a filter that goes in the middle of the gas line before the carb instead? Something like https://www.amazon.com/Briggs-Stratton-691035-Selected-Engines/dp/B0035PVVBY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1492129875&sr=8-3&keywords=mower+fuel+filter assuming its the right size.

Basically, my riding lawnmower will not start because I need a wire that connects to the anti-after fire solenoid. My old carburetor did not have this, so therefore my riding lawnmower appears not to have the wire. Is there a way to wire this or fix it?
The engine is a Briggs and Stratton Model# 287707 Type#1224-E1.............Old Carb # is Walbro LMT 5-4993 and New Carb is Niki 799727 (which is what Briggs and Stratton says is the replacement.
Thanks!