My C clip.. thats the little adjuster bar thingy by the carb right?
No, that is the choke lever I think if I am envisioning it right. That should be 1/2 to fully up to start, then worked down all the way once underway. If you have it part way up, that may cause you some running problems. The C clip is inside the carb, where the cable goes through the slide. Don't move it just yet...
I will take a look at the spark plug on my next break. I've never removed the spark plug before, when it needed to be changed i had a mechanic friend do it for me, for some reason i'm alittle scared of the spark plug. But ill get it off and take a look. I can just use a wrench or socket to remove it right?
Yep, nothing to fear there, just take the wire off, and unscrew it. Have a look or take a photo and post it here, and we'll get you on the right track, sounds like you may be just a bit lean by your description of where the choke lever is.
I've been using 24:1 ratio... but i've never done 31-40:1 I think i started with 16:1 then went to 24:1 after 2 gallons, when i first got my engine and have been using 24:1 ever since. Good? Bad?
You can safely go to 32:1 or even 40:1 at this point, just follow the ratio on the bottle of oil that you have. If you are running a synthetic oil, you can even go to 50:1. Either way, going to a leaner fuel to oil mix will actually give you a richer fuel to air ratio, and that may just cure all your running problems.