tecumseh ohv155 carb problem

I have a tec. ohv155 with carb. #640330a. It would only run by pouring gas in carb. I removed the bowl. With no gas in the bowl the float was not raising the needle off the seat (plastic bowl and float), unless I raise needle by hand. I bought a new complete bowl kit and it does the same. As far as I know there is no float adjustment (although I did try bending it a little, but it flooded and after a while it went back to the original shape) and the float pin is seated properly. What is wrong? Thanks in advance for your help.

PS: The anti-backfire solenoid is working properly, and I also tried removing it - no change.