Hi guys thanks for the input.
I finally got down to it and picked up some gaskets and valve seats to do the carbs.
First, I hate having to remove numerous shrouds to do a job. That is what I loved about my old Beetle and what I hate about my wife's Jetta.
Dang I-6 has more shrouds than Turin...just to remove a carb... 1.33+ shrouds per carbie
Anyway my symptom was inability to idle down to get into gear perhaps due to gas flooding from top carb...
Forced to remove my float bowl cover to get a wrench on the starboard carb mount bolts (damn! another shroud, or at least an impedance), there, in the top float bowl I believe found the culprit - a sunken float. Submerged and full of gas/oil it could not rise to cut off the gas flow. Went and fetched a float right before the dealer closed and got back to it.
I re-assembled in the dark and will give it a whirl tomorrow with fingers crossed. Didn't see any leftover parts so I hope I got all of the screws and bolts in their assigned places.
Question - is my logic sound? Would a drowned carb float cause such trauma?
Another question - is there a tool that will remove the starboard mounting carb bolts with out removing the float bowl cap - or is that by design because the bad float is a common problem?
Thanks again. I'll give an update tomorrow evening for the curious...