I need some guidance from someone familiar with the fuel and intake system on 1982 380SL. The car will run and idle but as soon as you try to give it throttle it will stall. The fuel filter & pump have been replaced and I believe I have it narrowed down to a vacuum leak in the upper intake or air flow boot. If I put slight downward pressure on the air flow sensor plate it runs like a champ. It seems without the added help, it is not getting enough vacuum to work on it's own the way it should. I removed the fuel distributor & sensor plate assembly and there appears to be a small leak on the back of this assembly between the fuel distributor end and the flange/boot assembly. Would that small leak be enough to cause the symptoms I am having? Could I use some type of silicone to reseal that assembly to confirm that is the problem before buying that boot & flange? It looks like they (flange & boot) are sold separately but originally it was one piece?
I attached a pic - the boot & flange I'm referring to are #122 and #113 in the pic.