HELP! John Deere Hydro 185 lawn mower wont start.

It has a Kawasaki fc540v engine (1.6L 17hp). It just died while idling. It has a new battery, spark plug, just changed the oil. Checked spark and fuel. Cleaned the carb. Tried dumping fuel into the carb. Turns over fine but wont fire. I was told to check the oil level with the dipstick not screwed in. Is this correct? Any ideas?