Hard starting when cold

There isn't really a gasket issue when removing the top of the carb to check the bowl levels. I do it all the time. However, I've done a few carb rebuilds in a 5 year span so the gaskets really were not in bad shape. You really won't know what the problem is until you pop that top and take a look.

I would suggest picking up a rebuild kit and keep it on hand. Rebuilding a carb is fairly simple, it only takes about an hour.