i had a good summer driving my car around despite those gas prices

as the weather's getting colder i'm starting to get those hesitations back in last winter.
I've narrowed it down to a lean-hesitation (sometimes stalling) when accelerating with engine cold
and only happens when the fast idle cam on the carb is stepping down to the next step
almost like the moment the choke plate opens up that extra bit,
the carb is letting too much air in and causing a stumble
there is no hesitation when cam is not stepping down / when engine is hot
just to clarify my choke breaker isn't functioning,
but i've replaced it's function by adding a paper clip to the mouth of the carb, to hold the choke slightly open
my guess: is my fast idle cam out of sync? how can this be adjusted?
thanks again