So I've had the same Stihl 046 since 2007ish, bought it used on Craigslist. Fast forward to Thanksgiving weekend this year, I went to use it and it basically wouldn't run. It would crank cold and idle, but once it started to get some heat, it would die. Didn't need it for a few weeks, forgot about it. Went to crank it last week, and remembered what it had been doing, but tried it anyway...same result. So I decided to pull the carb off and clean it out. As I was pulling it apart, I realized I had never pulled the carb because there were several things about the construction that surprised me. Ended up finding some sawdust or other small particulate matter on the inlet screen. Went through all of it, and everything else looked good, no ethanol residue or even typical gumming that I've seen in other carbs.
I believe it is a 1994 model, but definitely late 80's or early 90's. When I bought it in 2007, I put gas in it and ran it. At some point I replaced a sparkplug just because. About 5-6 years ago, it was running bad/hard to start/no power and I thought I was gonna have to clean the carb, but then I put fresh gas it in and it ran great again. Finally, after 10 years, I've had to clean the carb. Without a doubt, this has been the best saw I've ever owned.
(apparently I don't take many pictures of it...)