YES it should all be checked especially if you want to get the best performance out of the kit you have purchased. It's all explained (tuning) in the Haynes book of lies. Like i said if you just install the needle everything may work fine but it may create another issue that you end up chasing, you need a baseline to begin with. Just because everything seemed right before you installed the kit does not mean it is, obviously you thought it needed more power otherwise you would not have bought the kit. i can't remember how many cars/Mini's i have set up the basics on and the owners were amazed at the difference in performance.

I know you are trying to avoid the basics but it does not take a lot of time or money to do it.

Ok, i just don't know how to checking timing, vacumn, or points.  Since none of that was touched is it likely to need to be adjusted with the new intake/exhaust setup?

Yes pulling the choke richens the mixture.

NO NO !!!! the rest of the car needs to be set up correctly before you change the needle other wise when you change the needle and something else comes up running wise you will maybe be chasing other issues. Tuning the carb is always the last thing to do, i can't say how many times owners have had problems after doing xyz and not getting the basics right first. I don't say it will not work in all likelyhood it may work fine but if you still have issues with the running of the car you are still going to have to go back to the basics, it is a lot easier to get those out of the way and concentrate on the present problem and fix one issue at a time.

That makes sense. I did notivce that if i gave the choke a small pull it helped (that makes the mixture more rich, right?).  

As for the timing, vacumn, points, plugs...everything was ok before the install.  I'm thinking i just install the needle see how it runs, then see about the rest.

If you have installed the kit it needs the richer needle that is why it is supplied especially if a cone filter was installed, it should take no longer than 15 minutes to install the needle and tune it. Before you do anything with the carb you need to make sure the timing, vacumn advance, points (if you have them), spark plugs and valves are all set correctly otherwise you are wasting your time.

So its been a week of driving (ok just 3 days of actual driving) around with the Mini w/ the stage 1 kit installed.  The shop didn't want to install the new carb needle right away to see how things settle w/ the new set up.  Here is what I am seeing/feeling.

1. Engine Cold.  Lots of dead spots on the throttle.  Foot down no real power.  This nearly dissapears once the engine is warm (10-15 minutes).

2. In Nuetral: Engine revs up and down just fine.

The carb needle seems like something I could do in about an hour or two (plus or minus several swear words).  Do you think myh problem is more of a tunning/timing issue or should i first try to put in the new needle?

Another note.  As discovered in another thread, my engine is an A+ model not original to the '73 Innocenti 1001.