No answers to my specific question yet, but thanks anyway.
Final 3 Greens, yes, it has a carb. Why do you ask?
Kiltie, thanks for the suggestion to go to piperowners.org. I had been there, but for some reason I got the impression that the forum was for paying members only. I checked again, it isn't, and now I have put my question on that forum too. But your reservations about LOP puzzles me. As you have an analyzer in your own aircraft, you have surely observed the CHT drop when running LOP? My concern is high CHT's, and as manufacturer's recomended best pwr mixture (50°F) is also the setting giving the highest CHT, I am interested in LOP as that means lower CHT. So, along with Islander2, I would like to ask you what kind of damage you are envisioning in relation to LOP - vibration due to uneven fuel distribution is the only problem I can think of.
But, first and foremost, and as stated in my original post, I would like to know if the engine as installed in a Piper Dakota is a hot-running engine or not.