I am back... work has kept me tied up.
Ok made some progress; after trying the "fuel can" idea was able to rule out a fuel delivery issue.
Pulled the carburetors, cleaned and set the pilot screws to 5/8 as the manual stated
(they were set @ 1/4 to 1 turn). Cleaning the carburetors made a world of difference no more bogging down. But after idling back through the no wake zone developed a miss and lots of smoke and gas smell. Pulled the plugs, 3 of them were soaking wet. Changed them and adjusted the two pilot screws I could reach to a 1/4 turn from a soft seat. Ran much better. Got home and adjusted the other carburetor to a 1/4 turn and took her out again. Almost back to normal but still not 100%, pulled the plugs and they look pretty consistent in color and wettness... scared to tweak the plot screws to much.
Also checked the plug wires getting 7.2 - 8.4 ohms resistance on them....
Now running around 4800 RPM tops (41mph)... was around 5200 RPM (45 mph) before the bogging down issue started. But not complaining.