mechanical problems persisting

[scratch]

If you're willing to get your hands dirty and deal with spark plugs, oil filters, etc etc other wrenching on your bike shouldn't be too hard for you.  Last week I cleaned my carbs for the first time.  It wasn't too hard, nerve racking, but in the end easy.  So don't be afraid to wrench on the bike.

As for your problem I'm not sure I can help much.  I'm new here as well.  If I had to guess I'd go ahead and say sticky floats.  As far as I know, floats regulate the amount of available gas to your engine.  If they get stuck, which I guess they do sometimes, you can end up in a situation where your engine is starved of fuel (which may explain unresponsive throttle and bouncy idle).  Again this is speculation as I'm not an advanced troubleshooter on the gs....yet.  But hey it makes sense to me.  Maybe some of the more knowledgable guys can help you out or back me up.

lol. I guess I'm way off. No one has even remotely backed me up.

In a way, we have, by suggesting cleaning the carbs; there must be a reason the floats would get stuck and that would be either debris or old gas gumming up the needle valve.

Carb cleaner is not good for rubber parts; it will advance deterioration of the rubber.

[ambisinister]

Since the problem comes on suddenly it sounds like a loose or corroded electrical connection