new to vw

hi everyone. Im new to the vw scene and was wondering if someone could give me advise. I have a 68 vw and have some questions, it has a 4 speed and a 1600 motor is that stock? i did a major tune up, changed and gapped pluggs and points, changed oil, air and fuel filter, took apart carb cleaned and put back together. timed distributer. checked for air leaks, found none on the carb but i noticed when i sprayed carb cleaner on the intake manifold, rpms went up. i noticed the choke is not hooked up to the coil and there is a bolt thats stripped thats connected to something that looks like an upside down stair case. i think it sets the idle. Even though the car is missing a cooling tube and runs a little hot it still ran, and even though the choke is not hoooked up it still ran for a week . My valves are a little off but still ran. Now it would start and die in 3 secs. But it would choke not just die. when i get it to run i put it in 1st gear and pull away it chokes. is it the fuel pump? or a combination of fuel pump, air leak and carb? i had a mechanic work on it but don't think he knew much about vws. i should just work on it my self.

thanx for having me:) thanx for the advise.