After almost two full months of head scratching, my problem turned out to be an idle tube in the carburetor. I did a google search for info on how to adjust the air\fuel ratio on a Carter bbd, and found a post on the Jeep forum about the idle tubes clogging up on these carbs. The symptoms were exactly the same. I followed the instructions and found one of the idle tubes had slipped out of the slot it was supposed to be in which resulted in fuel just being dumped on the throttle plate . My truck will now idle for the first time in what seems like forever.

 

Good deal! I wish i had a Carter on my 87 instead that damn holley.

 

I now know more than I ever wanted to about the bbd, If you ever have any questions. I replaced my old one with a rebuilt one about two months ago, and that's why I found it hard to believe that was my problem, although I kept coming back to it. The idle tube probably got shaken loose during shipping, although it seems to be a common problem eith them. Another lesson learned.