Well it took two weeks, but I got it back and it's running like a champ!
My mechanic said the carb assembly looked good. He replaced both float needles with viton tipped solid based versions and corrected the float levels. One of the old needles had an oversized washer which might have let in too much fuel. He corrected the metering needle installation of one carb. Checked the timing, coil, valve adjustment and installed NGK spark plugs.
Nothing was a clear culprit, but the combination seemed to fix it.
Also the wire nuts on the coil were loose. This would be my blunder. I can't believe I spaced it. I'd like the think they backed off on their own, but I can see myself getting them tight and moving on to something else and not synching them down properly. He didn't notice it until it started idling a little rough. That might have caused an intermintent issue, but I think I it was carb tuning thing above.
Either way she is running like a champ. <span style="font-weight: bold">Thanks again to everyone for your replies and help.</span> I look forward to getting to know you better through this forum.
I woke up at 5:45 this morning and caught a ride with my wife. She dropped me off at the park and ride where I caught the bus and longboarded the last 2 miles to the shop.
I had some errands in south Denver and drove it a total of 50 miles today. A sticky choke caused a little hesitation early on, but once I unstuck it she ran like a champ.
It was 70 degrees in Denver so I put the top down for the drive home.
E-Type at the shop
Part of why it took me so long to get the Midget was that I was in SoCal getting my new TR6 running. I got that running last week. After driving the two within a week of each other I have to say how impressed I am with the Midget. I've owned other another Midget and TR6, but never at the same time. My Dad's Midget has seen years of hard use and even with rust in some areas if feels so much more solid than the frame / body TR6. The TR6 def has more torque (plus it's at sea level), but the Midget wins hands down in fun to drive, smile on my face, factor. It's just a better driver!
The New TR6
Midget is way more fun!