Trouble Starting after sitting

OK, after a week of waiting, I finally pooped the top of the carb off to see how much fuel was in the bowls. Well, it was practically empty. So, somehow I'm losing fuel as the car sits. Yes, evaporation is a possibility, so I tested this theory. What I found was something else.

Last night, after examining the carb with a shop light, I noticed it was wet along the outside of the bowls--it's fuel. The fuel level in the bowls had dropped dramatically in only 3 hours. I cleaned the gas residue off the carb and refilled the bowls with fuel to make sure this wasn't over-spill or gas leaking from the top gasket. Sure enough, a few hours later, the floats bottomed out and I could see fuel on the outside of the carb again. I guess I'm leaking fuel somehow, right through the pot metal. How is this possible? It's almost as if the carb is sweating gas through the bowl walls, or just leaking through the seam. Just for kicks, I tested this again today with the same results.

The fuel is not leaking from the top or the front of the carb--where the fuel line connects. I'm kind of at a loss, has anyone had this problem before, or is this normal? Thanks