Mower keeps cutting off... It seemed like water in the gas. so I took fuel line off , but no fuel is coming in from the tank. Is this a top draw? Why am I getting no fuel

The air noise you heard from the tank is the key to the problem I think. You are drawing a vacuum in the fuel tank, that when it gets strong enough will prevent fuel from draining out until the vacuum is broken, like when you pulled the line and let air into the system. For normal operation there is a hole in the fuel cap that lets air in the top and prevents drawing a vacuum. To test this, loosen the cap so air can enter via the threads and start it and try mowing, see if reoccurs. If it does not then the problem is the fuel cap. Sometimes the cap becomes plugged, clean it if you can, replace if you can not.

I hope this gets you going again, please let me know.

Hi ibcasady...

The bottom fuel tank line runs to the bottom connection, the top fuel tank line runs to the top...
Test it to make sure that is the right direction, and that the carburetor is being primed with fuel...if not reverse the hoses.

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That is the fuel pump. It feeds the fuel into the carburetor. I would take off the fuel bowl and see if there is any water in it. (1/2 in socket will work) Also you can take the line that goes to the carburetor off at the fuel pump and turn the engine over a couple of times and see if the fuel pump is working correctly. (shooting fuel out as the engine turns over) If the fuel pump is working ok, then I would suggest that the problem is with the carburetor.
If you find water in the fuel bowl, then there is most likely water in your fuel tank as well. Wal-Mart sells HEET, which will help to remove and burn the water from the fuel system. It may pop and sputter as the water goes into the engine. But keep fresh fuel handy and you can run the engine close you your house at full throttle and choke the engine if it starts to die, and run it until the fuel tank is dry. Then you can add the fresh fuel into the fuel tank ( I would add some more HEET to the fuel to help remove all of the water). Your engine should run like normal again.
IF you do not have any water in the fuel bowl and you have a couple of wires running to the bottom of the carburetor, then it could be the fuel solenoid is acting up and needs to be replaced.
If that is the case you will need the MODEL, TYPE, and CODE off of the OHV cover. It is stamped into the metal.
I hope this helps to answer your question.

Usually they dont have fuel filters on them,but I've made it a practice to install one for insurance to keep dirt from entering carb,I clamp gas line leaving gas tank cut it where I can get to it and install fuel filter.the filter will catch any dirt that may get into tank when refill,I also install a cut off before the filter for future clean and mantenance,save's time.

There is probably debris that made it through the gas cap and into the tank, and is now clogging the fuel pickup tube. Had this something similar with a Poulan after my first use. Use a suction bulb or vacuum tester to draw contaminated gas out of tank, and rubber band a coffee filter over the cap in the future. You may have to slosh the fuel around, and perform this a couple of times on subsequent uses to get it all out. May want to clean the spark plug with a wire brush to get rid of the carbon deposit that has accumulated. DO NOT put a piece of coffee filter under the cap above the cardboard, it will get splashed with gas and stall the engine. Trust me on this one. After I performed this repair, the mower cut like a champ again, and the fuel consumption dropped in line with the old mower.

Water in the carb bowl. Primer charge is gas...what the main jet draws is water! Tipping backwards lets the water move away from main jet pickup and clean fuel to enter engine.

Drain the tank. Then the carb and fuel line. Then check your gas can for watery fuel. *(dump it into a large plastic bowl and look to see if there is a layer of water on the bottom. If you shake up the fuel before you pour it off you will see cloudy liquid if there is water in it).

That should do it.

line runs from little filter in tank to carb.
line from carb. to primer bulb
line from primre bulb back to gas tank.
lines are 2 sizes
need to cut at angle end of lines in tank so you can get them thru holes
and grab with needle nose plyers and pull them thru.
make sure you put the little filter on end before you pull line thru and leave
enough so filter can move around the whole tank.
second line in tank is smaller and need to cut and pull it thru hole in tank to primer bulb

This is the typical fuel line routing on many models: One line ( the one with the fuel filter in the end of it) comes out of the fuel tank and goes to the lower port on the carburator. The second line goes from the fuel tank to the bottom fitting on the primer bulb. The third section goes from the top port on the primer bulb to the top port on the carburator. Hope this helps and best wishes.

Mine did this too. THe semi-transparent fuel filter will look like no gas is in it if you have the problem I had. The gas cap on the tank has a tiny breather hole to keep it from coming under a vacuum as gas runs out. Push thru it with a toothpick to clear the hole. That's all it was. But I did have some black debris clogging the filter and had same symptom.

Could be the fuel - especially if it's been stored for awhile. LOTS of problems with Ethanol now, especially if you have a vented gas tank. The ethanol actually draws water (humidity) through the vent and into the tank... then the water and the ethanol settle to the bottom of the tank with the gas on top. Of course, your fuel pump draws fuel from the bottom of the tank. I use StarTron Enzyme Fuel Treatment, which seems to help.