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I hadn't but I put one in following the rebuild 

If the fuel tank is clean you don't need a filter otherwise they are a good idea.  Just make sure any filter you get is designed for a gravity fed fuel system, not a pressure system filter like from a car.

Polishing the float valve seats in the carb bodies is advised when rebuilding.  There are a couple of different methods including using a Q-tip dipped in polishing compound spun in a rotary tool or similarly using a piece of gray scotchbrite pad. The idea is to clean up the metal surface so the needle can move smoothly.  After you get the carbs together checking fuel level using a clear tube is the litmus test since fuel level is the critical thing.

Finally got back to this after a 10 day hiatus. Petcock seems to be not leaking in the On Position after reassembling it 3 times, pinhole in gas tank patched with JB weld successful so far... Rigged a cone/mesh insert for the air filter cap out of some machine mesh and went for a 12 mile ride no issues! Yay!

Okay so here's another good question - found a part number for a sealed Sylvania bulb in another thread where the OP stated they were looking for something brighter than the stock incandescent for a 1981 kz440... Someone replied with a link to the same Sylvania bulb stating it dropped right in. Found one locally and took everything apart only to find that it doesn't fit. The new bulb is 7" while the old retaining ring around the front of the old bulb looks to be 6". Beyond that, the brackets on the back of the old bulb appear to be fixed to the body of what I can only assume is the original bulb.... So does anyone know anything about this or how the hell I'm supposed to get a decently bringht replacement in this bike? Picture shows the back of the old bulb 

Here are some possibilities.

www.kzrider.com/forum/4-electrical/61355...light-options#830303

I was actually just looking at that thread - so if I'm looking at it correctly, I can throw any 7" unit in that bucket / bracket combo and the top/bottom/horizontal adjusting brackets are on their own ring, which I would fit around the 7" unit I choose? Theoretically that would open me up to any of the DOT 7" led units on eBay?

So it seems the 440 has taken to destroying 12v horns. The stock one it came with worked fine when I got the bike. 2 weeks ago, the damn thing was silent. Dismantled and it was corroded inside, tried cleaning it but there was no saving it. A week ago installed a 12v snail from ebay, worked fine, went for a ride or two maybe beeped it half a dozen times and yesterday it's dead again. Checked continuity and checked the horn again on another bike. Nothing. Checked the 750 horn on the 440 and it worked. The circuit on the 440 tests fine with a multimeter and none of the fuses are blowing. 

I've seen others have had this problem but couldn't find anyone that solved it. Any thoughts? I traced the wires around yesterday with the help of the wiring diagram and nothing appears to be broken / corroded, but I haven't checked in the handlebar controls yet. 

Check the left handlebar control, because it sounds like it could be playing up. From memory, it's a blue wire that grounds one of the terminals on the horn when you push the button.
It's +ve to the horn in its normal state, and it only gets the -ve on one of its terminals when you hit that button. The left handlebar switch doesn't need to be grounded to anything for it to work.

Suspect faulty switch or loose or bad connection. Check with a testing light - it makes things much easier.

If you have a bad horn, don't replace it with a modern piece of Chinese rubbish because you'll keep doing that forever. I've bought two in the past. They look the part, but one of them was dead right out of the packet, and the other worked intermittently, briefly, then died. Kawasaki original horns are good.