ended up making a new carby needle mounting block from some scrap polyethelene, more reliable
As for the counter gear setup - it blew apart.
Wasn't that surprised though, as I had to fit a 10mm bearing into an 11mm gear boss - not much meat left around it, that's where it busted.
Seeing as I just completed my last exam this morning, and my new Traxxas gear parts arrived yesterday, I set to work..
Ground boss of large gear
bored bearing recess for 5x8x2.5mm bearing
bored same bearing recess on other end, bearing fitted
didn't stop to take any more pics, but the rest of the process is boring out the large gear to fit the smaller gear's boss (about 11mm), then pressing it in (must be a tight fit!).
I'll have to turn down the large gear width a bit, as it interferes with the clutch bell atm.. here's a pic of what happened to the previous clutch gear, btw..