Thanks for all your help guys. One of the things that was unclear was if I was supposed to be pushing fuel into the filter housing with a primer pump OR pumping it out. Reading the earlier posts it is pumping the fuel out. I'd changed all the filters out on the same hot day. It wasn't until I turned over the HEMTT and it starting running rough that I'd realized I didn't fill the fuel filter with fresh fuel. It was a hot TX day and I guess I was in a hurry to finish the job. Didn't feel comfortable pressurizing the fuel tank and other guys made mention that priming the system is easy at the filter housing. So I went to the local auto parts store, bought a cheap $15 plastic transfer pump and one barbed fitting with a 1/4" MIP. Unscrewed the 1/4" pipe plug in the filter housing, attached the pump and pumped about 10 times before fuel came running out the end of the transfer pump. Put the 1/4" pipe plug back in the filter housing. Seconds later started up that big DD with no problems. It was cheap, fast and easy to prime the DD. Some days you gotta love the SS forums! Thanks again to all you who responded. Now I just have to wait and see if the Feds will allow me to keep that big beautiful HEMTT.
Bryan