Ummmm.
With the choke out I was able to get to the fuel line at the carb, so I took it off, sucked on the vacuum line and sprayed a bit more fuel around. Reinstalled the choke just by pressing it in as well as the fuel/vac lines (although rather than passing through the little portal in the frame I just had them lying on top of the frame instead) and tried to start. It went. I just took it for a ride and there was no hesitation, still takes a couple of presses to get it going but there was no trouble once it was running.
The little tube the two lines previously went through is nice and wide and there weren't any visible line kinks or anything.
I'm utterly confused as to why it's running now, but maybe there was a blockage in the fuel line from the pump to the carb??
I was thinking of getting a "performance" orange coil and an iridium plug to try and get the starts more reliable. Any thoughts on this idea?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=AGINYPD9X8MQG
Any ideas as to why I would experience these problems? I really was just pulling components, testing them and putting them back. Nothing seemed to be wrong!
Anyhow, it appears I'm riding again, WOO!