22k engine question

ok so i tried a few things to try and solve my engine problem finally was told that it was a bad carb. i scored one for free but 3 hoses from mine doesnt match the other one. my biggest question is when i unhooked the three hoses on the front of the air cleaner box i guess the reed valves? alot of creamy colored sut came out.would issues with this cause problems for the engine??? ran a lot better (at higher rpms) than with the air box hooked up. any ideas????

check for blockage

well im sure there is a blockage in the little box that is connected to the air box. i guess my big question is that i was haveing problems with the engine (havent drivin it yet will l8r) but when i disconnected the air box and all the lines to it the truck ran alot better at idle than it has since i had discovered the problem. with just the stock carb can i leave it like that?? and how hard is it to go with a holley 5200 (little bit cheaper for me) thanx again guys

if you go with the holly you can ditch all that hose crap and you ecu

thats good. and do u reckon that the blockage was causeing black smoke and poor idel? like i said i will drive it this afternoon to see what it does under driving conditions w/o the air box and what not connected and hopefully has corrected the problem(please excuse me im all sinused out going to the docs in a bit)thanx again