Help Please! Scooter Dies & Looks Like It's Not Getting Fuel

[gebe]

I bought a 2004 Diamo 150cc Classic GY6 scooter last summer. I adjusted the valves, the carb, put in a new spark plug and new fuel filter.

It ran great all summer and then I put it up for winter. I took it out a few weeks ago and it was still running great. Yesterday I took it for a 20 mile ride on the highway to the next town which is 10 miles away. It ran perfect on the way up maintaining a steady 60 mph. On the way back about 2 miles from home it just gave a little cough and died.

I tried starting it after waiting awhile with no luck. I had a friend pick me up and we took it home. After I got it home I checked the spark plug which was still in excellent shape and fairly new and then replaced the fuel filter with a new one.

It still won't start. The old fuel filter did have a lot of crud in it and I thought that installing a new one would do the trick. I did notice that the new filter should have had a lot more gasoline in it when I was trying to start it.

Any ideas? By the way, and pardon my ignorance but what is the thing that screws into the bottom of the gas tank that the fuel line connects to?

Any help will be greatly appreciated and thanks so much!