Well the good news is my KLX has stood since Wednesday. This morning it fired up sweet as.
I'm feeling pretty confident that the float bowl level was the culprit. I'm going to hold off drilling the starter jet. May as well see how it runs for a while.
Thanks everyone for the input...
Next job is a Rifle carrier down the fork leg

 

And a banjo carrier down the other?!

 

You got a problem with banjos?

 

Oh No, I'm living in Hill Billy Hell.
It crept up on me

 

only in the Eastern suburbs of Christchurch

 

Hey,
Thanks for the info. Can I ask, can you explain how you use a piece of clear plastic tubing? Thanks!

 

You get a piece of clear plastic tubing like for battery overflow tube or fuel line for a chainsaw, etc. Attach one end to the drain spigot on the bottom of the carb that has the black overflow vent tube. Gently bend the tube, no kink, and press the tube against the carb body at the area of the float bowl and carb body contact point. Unscrew the overflow spigot screw enough to allow fuel to flow into the tube. The fuel should rise in the clear tube to the point that the fuel is actually sitting in the carb. The fuel in the tube should ideally sit at the float bowl/carb body line. The shop manual shows how this method works, but using the clear plastic line lets you do the job without the factory special tool. When you know exactly where your fuel level in the carb actually is, you can either lower or raise the level as needed by bending the tang on the float where it contacts the needle.

 

and here's a pic

 

Very clever!!!! Thanks you guys! Nice picture too!

 

Back on topic:
I don't own a KLX, yet but I will shortly so I dont know if this applies to the KLX250; however, many of the CA model street legal DS bikes have a one-way valve on the fuel tank breather tube or in the gas cap. This valve often gets clogged and causes pressure to build up in the tank when heat is radiating from a hot engine or from the hot sun. When this happens the carburetor gets a higher fuel pressure and extra gasoline gets to the engine causing hard HOT starting issues.
If the KLX has such a valve, has anyone given it a check to see if removing it makes any difference?