After some time I have decided to dig into the saw. Did a complete teardown, faced the dreaded 10/32 spline bolts for the piston rod, hammered out the bearing, slipped the piston out.
I knew this saw had low compression just playing with the pull cord and my friend confirming. Looking through the muffler and intake I could see scoring. But oh man I think I know why my fuel lines looked snipped rather than rotted off.
Upon inspection, it seems the rings have melted to the intake side of the piston. 3/5 of the rings feel free to move but ultimately this is what caused the low compression I could notice without a gauge.
Thankfully the cylinder wall looks immaculate, such a suspense waiting to see how it looked trying to figure out how to get the crank out etc.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/385390248189 matches the same part #. Can anyone vouch for Lil red barn? Seems like the way to go.