get a few cans of carb cleaner spray, and really go to work cleaning it. It might not help it work much better, but at least it's easy to put together and do any adjustments on (and also if it starts to leak or anything, you can see it easily on a clean surface)

Even the smartest carb guy in the world started exactly the same way. At one time in their life they had never worked on a carb and they tried it the first time. So you have got the same starting place as they had too, you can do this! And if anything goes wrong, people here can help.