Servicing and getting it running right

[OapEM]

I am needing to give my '84 360 a good service/tune, as it has been off the road for quite a while there are obviously things that need replaced and overhauled.

I have already replaced the mechanical fuel pump, I intend to purchase a new air filter, plugs, leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm and drop the oil/change the filter, coolant flush, brake fluid flush etc.

At the moment it won't fire up without a squirt of easy start into the carb. Then when it does it runs on high idle - choke does nothing most times. It looks in the past that the choke linkage has seized and this has kinked the cable. The linkage is very stiff (after greasing) and I have to adjust the idle speed by adjusting the linkage myself.

Is this a common problem? Also it is using an obscene amount of fuel at the moment, I still need to remove the inspection cover and check/replace the fabric fuel hoses (I hope these are leaking lol)

I would imagine the carb will need to be set up / mixture adjusted, anyone know of anywhere old skool in the North East that's handy with carbs?

And lastly the brakes! From <40mph in dry conditions they are fine but anything over that and after maybe half an inch of travel the pedal feels set in stone - like none servo assisted brakes. This is not good lol, I have yet to remove the wheels and check brake condition, everything seems fine (no binding etc) and it is bedding in a bit better than when I first got the car, although I haven't even covered 100 miles yet. What do we think, could this just be down to old fluid?

Thanks, Liam