78 KZ1000 #1 and #2 flooding

I've lurked for years and might be jumping the gun on this one by posting but due to my current work schedule I have very little garage time and want to be able to order parts/day dream about what I need to work on.

1978 KZ1000 w/ 30,000 miles.
While riding on wet roads but not in the rain all of a sudden I got terrible chugging and back firing. I had just recently cleaned the carbs and had a fuel filter ordered but had not arrived yet. (Tank is starting to show visible rust behind Kawi name plates) I have been getting small specks of crud in the carbs here and there over the years. Immediately I figured I had another.

As I was riding I could hear that the right side was firing properly. I confirmed this by touching both pipes when I got home. 1 and 2 pipe was cooler while 3 and 4 was hot as ever.


While I day dream about getting into my garage and think about the work I need to have done my question is this:

Could a bad petcock be causing my over fuel issues?
- No leaking from over flow tubes
- #1 and #2 plugs are wet with gas (I would describe them as sopping wet)
- Being as it is one and two I also feel as though that tells me I am not dealing with a "typical" ignition issue
- One of my fuel lines enters in by 1 and 2


I have yet to even test the petcock to see if leaks with no vacuum or not. Again, I have a free moment while I am work and I HATE when I am having bike issues and cannot start fixing it so I can't help myself. Thanks for any and all input in the meantime.

First thing I would do is make sure my valves are adjusted correctly since #1 and #2 do not share the same coil and the plugs are soaked with no over flow from stuck floats or dirty needle and seats.
Second, spark plug wires and caps could be trashed on that side of the engine.
But 1 and 2 do share the same fuel line feed so there could be crap in their bowls too!

They share the same vent too. If one seat and needle is leaking, the other will overfill. The overflows may be clogged.
Steve