Thanks guys. I'm a DIY kind of guy. Yes, you can, and I did, get by without the proper puller for a long time. When I started getting into more saw work, it became apparent I needed these pullers. Yes they're pricey, VERY pricey. But you can see just how well they work.
Why did I wait so long to pressure test? I had some actual carb problems I was working on and just thought the fast idle was part of it. So I chased that tail first. It would have been quicker and easier in the long run to have just pressure tested it to begin with. But, I was not "rebuilding" this saw, just doing some mods for a friend, Nik. When I rebuild a saw, the seals come out automatically and are replaced. It's not worth trying to get around replacing them.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share what you can do in your garage with just a few tools. You can get by without the puller for a few saws, and the rest of the tools aren't that expensive.
Also, pressure and vaccum testing can have this auro around it that it's some difficult task requiring expensive and highly specialized tools. As you can see, it doesn't.
Go for it guys. Get them saws runnin' right and have some fun cutting wood this fall!