I have an issue with my 'good old' Mikuni carb on my '85 2.0L automatic. After replacing the secondary vacuum diaphragm and a bunch of leaky vacuum hoses I finally got this thing running great except for one PITA problem. After the engine warms up, if I punch it from a dead stop it falls flat on it's face for about two seconds and then takes off like a rocket. Even if I take off from a slow rolling start it will hesitate until I kick it down into first gear and then it takes off. Does anyone have any ideas?

Also, can I remove ANY of the spiderweb of vacuum hoses without killing this thing totally? I'm not in the position to look at a carb swap at this time.

Thanks for any insight that you can offer!!