The original symptoms are consistent with either fuel starvation from one of multiple delivery circuits in the carburetor being clogged or else a timing/ignition problem. If pulling the choke out part way made the problem go away, then it’s most likely a fuel problem.
Almost all carbs have more than one fuel circuit. Each circuit handles a different RPM range. Most circuits have removable jets. The jets are usually what gets clogged from crap in the fuel first, but small passages can also get clogged. The best way I have found to clean jets (if they are not stuck in place from old age) is to remove them, soak them in carb cleaner until the crud softens, then run properly sized nylon guitar strings through them to scrub out the crud. The passages behind the jets can be tougher to clean if the crud got that far back.
If you ran partially choked, then the spark plug will get dark from when you ran on a circuit that was operating properly. Partial choking covers for the lean condition on the clogged circuit, but makes the other circuits run rich.
Modern carbs are jetted as lean as possible while still being able to run, so they are more sensitive to very small restrictions compared to older engines. Adjusting the jetting slightly richer will usually make the engine more user friendly at the expense of increasing emissions to a level that is probably outside of legal limits.
Ethanol gas is a good choice if you are going to run the tank just about dry, then put some ethanol free behind it before you shut the motor down. The ethanol gas has slightly better solvency properties than the ethanol free gas & actually helps to keep the fuel system clean when it goes through, but ethanol gas is not your friend when it sits in a tank or a carb for a long time, especially in humid environments. The solvency related issues have already been mentioned. The other big issue is that ethanol sucks moisture out of the air, binds with it, then forms a noncombustible goo that sits on the bottom of your tank or the bottom of your float bowl & plugs things up. Once the goo is formed, the additives can’t break it down. They can only prevent it from forming if they are added when the fuel is fresh. The additives buy you some time (months), but they don’t make the fuel last forever & they don't prevent the ethanol from attacking older rubber parts that were made before ethanol was a normal ingredient in motor fuels.
Ethanol free gas is available at some gas stations in most states. A pretty good listing of availability by state can be found here -
https://www.pure-gas.org/