I think you are on the right track. I recently had a similar issue with a 15 Merc Super that turned out to be crap in the carby. At idle it would run all day but if you put revs on eventually it would suck in the gunk and come to a grinding halt. The only thing may be to try a tote tank with a totally independant fuel line if you have access to one just to confirm 100 percent that the issue is in the motor.