I have the same problem, only mine will only run about 3 -5 seconds then quits. This is a mower I found under the house my daughter is renting so I have no history on it. It looks almost new. The spark plug looks new and the blade looks new. Tonight, I took the air cleaner off and sprayed carb cleaner in the intake. It really wasn't very dirty. Still didn't help. I agree, it seems like a choke problem. I haven't got it to run enough to heat up, so I don't know if it will run when hot. It seems to be an air/fuel mixture problem, since it fires up every time after priming with 5 to 10 pumps on the primer bulb. Most mowers I'm used to have a mixture screw but I can't find one on this mower.
Rick Bordeaux, August 2006