Have a John Deere A130 Lawn tractor that cranks but won't start. I put fuel in carb and starts right up, but once fuel is gone, it dies.

So the carb is not getting fuel to the engine. First confirm fuel is running freely through the line feeding the carb by pulling it from the carb inlet. If the fuel runs fine then is likely time to drop the bowel, clean it and the needle/seat. Drain of any existing fuel in the tank and refill with fresh gas. Any better?