My theory is the valves in the pump are leaking a little and fuel is syphoning back to the tank. You start up and run on the fuel that is in the carb until it runs out. Just a thought!

I think we have fixed the fuel issue!  I rebuilt the fuel pump and blew out the fuel line from the tank to the pump. I did get a little bit of rusty crap out of the line but not what I would consider excessive. There is a tag on the fuel pump that says "rebuilt" but I don't think they did a complete job. The diaphragms appear fairly new but the valves appear to be very old. they do look anything like the new ones included in the rebuild kit. Once it was reinstalled, I dumped a little gas down the carb and it started right up ( I knew the carb bowls were full) the fuel pump sucked up the gas and filled the sediment bowl and the fuel filter immediately. the fuel filter is now all the way full, where before it would only get about 2/3 full and was very bubbly. It seems to run very nice at various RPM's. I was not able to drive it tonight due to rain.  I am waiting for morning to see if the filter is still full or if it drains back. It has been a couple hours now and it is still full so I hope that is a good sign. 
I want to say thanks to everyone that offered tips and ideas.