My guess is that the carburetor has a problem. Priming is only supposed to fill the lines and carb with fuel so that you don't have to pull the cord to get the fuel charged into the system. If its squirting out the carb, that carb needs either a cleaning, rebuild, or replacement.

Does the piston and cylinder look good? Good compression?

I hope it works out for you.

Yes, the piston and cylinder do look good. I kinda thought that, just wanting some comfirmation. Seems to me that a check valve is stuck or something. Those carbs are so cheap, I might just order a new one...I did that with the Redmax and I don't regret the $32 bucks at all. the thing runs like new!

Could you have connected the fuel supply and return lines backwards?

Tell me the fuel supply is supposed to go into the top of the carb, right?

The top gasket on the carb is kinda dry rotted. I think I'm going to run by AAA rentals and pick up a new one....tht should do the trick!