thx for the input.

OK, so when I disconnected the idle control valve, the idle went up, but still rough idle. does this mean that there is nothing wrong with the idle control valve?

I also noticed that the air intake into the carb ( about 5 in diameter) has a little bit of an opening (about 1/8" maybe a little smaller) after start-up with engine still cold. Is this normal? or does this indicate some vacuum leak somewhere?