my truck blows the exact same black condensation from the exhaust on startup, but the engine runs fine - idles properly and doesnt blow smoke, but i changed my air filter and the problem went away for about 2-3 weeks but came back.. no idea whats goin on? 22r carby engine

Hey Seth, Did ya make any headway on the carb problem?? hope so.

Well I didn't find any leaks anywhere on the intake.

Is it possible it could be a rich condition? If the float isn't letting the needle set all the way would it cause a rich condition at low RPMs? My friend brought this up since I have had the top of the carb off 2-3 times, and only set it when I first installed the new float.

If the float level is not set correctly it could definately cause a rich condition, esspecially if its set to high. The float level should be set so when the engine is running at an idle the fuel level should be centered in the round sight glass on the front of the carb fuel bowl. If set too high the extra fuel in the bowl fouls up the metering allowing it to run rich, too low and it can hesitate and stumble under acceleration, its basically running out of gas.
Also if the needle and seat in the carb is not seating regardless of the float setting, its pumping the float bowl full and causing it to run rich, if its really bad the fuel can and will start overflowing out the top of the carb because the needle can't close and shut off the fuel flow.
Good luck.

damn i came back today in high hopes that seth solved it...i'm still in for knowledge

Well I just came in to report my findings. I decided to let it sit for a day or so without messing with it. Mostly because I am frustrated. So I went out today and hooked the exhaust back up, and just started it. It started and ran fine but the choke still did not kick on, and it died on its own. So I started it back up, with similar results. So I looked under the hood,, turned the idle up half a turn, moved the choke linkage with my hand, then moved the choke plate manually, stared at it, then started it again. This time it ran fine, choke activated itself, warmed up, then went down to idle without any issues.

Now all I have to do is drive it around and hope nothing else goes wrong...

I drove it around today. Seemed to run fine until the motor warmed up and the choke turned off. Anything below 1500 RPM just dies. It doesn't sputter or run rough, it just shuts off and I have to dump a gear or pull over and start it...

Okay a friend of mien suggested starting ti cold so the choke kicks on. Then while it runs on its own go under the hood and rev it up real high and close the choke flap manually. I did it a few times and it now seems to idle fine. I've been driving it for about 20 minutes with no issues so far.

have you moved your MSD box or changed any wiring next to it at all? I had a similar problem once when I had the input wire zip tied to some other wires

glad to hear this...