I have a Sears lawn mower, rear drive, 6.5 Hp Briggs and Stratton engine
that is five years old. It didn't get much use when we got it in the fall
five years ago, and then the following years we had somebody mow our lawn so
it sat for four years. This spring I fired it up and it ran well until the
last few times. The symptoms are this:

Takes several tries to get started. Prime the bulb and pull cord, will run
for 5 seconds and stop. Repeat this five or so times until it stays
running.

Then will run for 20 or so minutes and then run erratically and stall After
stalling, the engine must be bulb primed to get started again. Will run for
a minute and then stall again. Repeats this over and over until I give up.

Before I bring this in to get serviced, can I get an idea what might be
causing this. I'm wondering if it's worth the repair bill.

Thanks for your replies.