carb removal-89 accord

Howdy... I've been going through my car trying to get it
ready for the dreaded emissions test at the end of the month.
The car has been running ok I suppose, but in checking it out,
I've found that it's running way too lean. I used the O2 sensor
to tell me this.. And the sensor seems ok, as it reacts to me
richening up the mix with propane, carb cleaner, etc..
Anyway, from testing with carb cleaner, I see indications that
the gasket at the base of the carb is leaking, even if it's tight.
I can go all along the lower section and get a bump in rpm
with the cleaner, and the rear of the carb seemed the worst.
One of those two vac lines may have been leaking. Anyway,
I still want to replace the gaskets being I've got it tore down this
far, but I've hit sort of a roadblock. Not too hard I suppose, but
wondering if there is some easy way...
The problem... How to get the carb clear to remove it. The rear
is hitting the metal vac lines, etc.. Mainly from the a/c idle up
device on the drivers side, and there may be some hang on the
other side too.. So do I need to remove the idle up solenoid, and also
the choke, etc? I was thinking the easy way would be to take the
hoses off, and pretty much lift off as one piece, but it doesn't seem
to want to go that way. Anyone know of a easy way to clear all
that mess, before I start just taking all the controls off the carb
itself?
I considered taking it and trying to pass with it real lean, but
decided
I would rather just fix it now. The lean burning scares me to death I
might be frying the head, valves, etc.. No bueno..
At this point, I'm not sure if the "computer" is working right or not..
The voltage for the a/c idle up is not right. Same all the time, on or
off.. But I can't tell if the emissions gear is working or not, cuz of
the too lean mixture.. Normally, the carb runs on the rich side,
and the air bleeds/o2 sensor/puter controls the mix to 14/1..
Being mine is way too lean, those devices don't get called to
operate. No bueno... I decided I might as well get it working right.
I have other trucks, so this can take a while if needed. it won't
be the end of the world if my sticker runs out before I get through.
Did I say working the carb on the typical accord is a royal PIA? yep,
it
sure is... Not like my old ford trucks, where I can remove and rebuild
the
freakin thing quicker than I can remove all the lines from the honda..
I can rebuild carbs ok, but my plan on this one was to just change
the gaskets. The carb works fine.. It's just leaking air in around the
base, and maybe a small amount on the upper gasket.. I haven't
checked for intake gasket leaks yet.. I'll do that when I get the carb
back on and right.. It was fer sure leaking around the carb base..
MK