u/Twanz8

I’ve been trying to get this outboard back up and running and have hit a wall. Started about a year ago but wiring was cracked and corroded. Confirmed spark, compression and fuel. New spark plugs, points and gapped to spec, rewired corroded wires, replaced impeller, rebuilt carb and fuel pump. It will not start in neutral, even with some premix sprayed into the carb, but if I shift into forward gear to WOT it starts after a few pulls. Cuts out when I try to throttle down to put into neutral. I went through the steps to check timing from the service manual and timing seems correct too.

Any idea what is causing this issue? New to outboards and looking for some guidance, thanks!