After 2 years, we finally fixed the toilet. Now it doesn't run anymore. We took all the insides out and replaced them with brand new insides that you can see in the picture above. It's been 4 days and nothing terrible has happened. Water is not leaking from the bottom of the tank. The tank seems to be sitting securely on the rest of the toilet. And, most importantly, it flushes.

Here's what i don't understand. You see that skinny, black rubber hose with the white thing on the end going to the white "overflow" pipe in the middle of the toilet? That rubber hose shoots water into the overflow pipe. The water then ends up in the toilet bowl. Why does it have to do that? Why are we deliberately shooting water down the overflow pipe? Shouldn't we reserve use of that pipe for when the tank, you know, starts to overflow?