Greg,
Of course Carbon is an element. Do you know what "burning" means? It refers to a redox reaction specifically, usually to oxidize. Oxidizing refers to adding Oxygen to the element in order to make an oxide. Carbon Dioxide. Carbon Monoxide. Understand? When temperatures are high enough, Oxygen will react with PLENTY of elements including Carbon.

I honestly don't know how you got on that little path to fallacy. Elementary education teaches us about elements and burning. BTW, Carbon is FUSED in stars massive enough to utilize the CNO chain process. I won't try to explain fusion yet since we're trying to understand burning at the moment...

Have you removed your prechambers for cleaning? What do those paper manuals you are always referencing on here say about prechamber cleaning? Curious minds want to know.