Need carb rebuild or replace advice

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Have run this nice 71 C20 for a few years with no carb issues - so never looked under the big K&N air filter or past the red "Edelbrock" logo on the front of the carb. Simply thought "first Edelbrock I've run on a SB350 and it is good".

Three days ago went to rough idle, then to no idle and fuel coming out of vents/accel pump opening. Uncovered it - looks like a Quadrajet with an "E" logo across the front - then found out that "E" had bought rights and was selling them as E Quads for a while. Guess I'm slow on such things.

Removed and opened it up as with any Q'jet (some things looked a little bit different) and found float/needle segment askew. Had no rebuild kit and nearest one is 75 miles or get from internet, so cleaned everything, checked bouyancy of float, made sure that the needle is seating and shutting off flow with float up, adjusted the float down a little, then put everyhting back together from memory, installed it and - the engine starts/runs fine at higher RPM, but will flood/quit near idle speed. Yes - fuel still is leaking from the carb.

Also noticed that there is no choke coil spring against the manifold with lever to carb to drive the choke plate. How does this Q'jet know to operate the choke lever/plate when the engine warms up?

In the past I have simply rebuilt the Q'jets. BUT - before I go buy a kit and try to cure the current issues, is there a better idea, even on a self-rebuild? Or, would you buy a rebuilt Q'jet from one of the 2 or 3 big advertisers on the net? Or, from whom? When you change from a Q'jet on these SBs, what carb is best to use and how does one deal with those big secondary openings in the manifold? I'm ready to learn some stuff and try something better. Thanks for any helpful insights.