I'd start by looking carefully at the oil you are using. The newest automobile oils do not have the necessary ZDDP (zinc) additives needed to protect a flat tappet engine, whick I suspect the Briggs is. The oil companys have reduced the zinc to nearly Zero to meet the latest pollution standards.
If you check the certification label on the oil bottled with the Briggs label (and Kohler also) you will find it is certified for "SL" not the newest "SM" you find on the one labeled for car use. (I am going by memory here as to SL and SM, so may have not got it quite right, but I do know the small engine oil is manufactured to an earlier spec).
You can also get the necessary zinc by using an off road diesel rated oil, such as the Case IH #1, and maybe other brands too. I keep a barrel of the Case IH oil for use in my tractors and small engines.
If the B/S engine sat for many months with gasoline (or gasohol) in the tank, it may have turned very sticky. I have seen where it sticks the valves (and maybe even affects the piston rings & cylinder bore). Today's gas is made to be used within the next week or 2, and can become real evil when it sits for months.
I really doubt the Briggs "badmouthing" people. The Briggs may not be the very best engine in the market, but it doesn't suddenly go to he-l without some kind of reason. Your most recent oil changes seem to be the likely reasons. (And I have seen the Honda engines gummed up just like I described, the same with Kohler, and Techumseh. The seasonal use equipment like snowblowers, wood splitters, and rototillers seem to take the worst beating from the stale gas problem. The 2 cycle engines with gas/oil mix seem to be much better off because of the stabilizing additives in the oil.
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