I'm a little late getting in here but...Mine did the same thing this spring. I had replaced the filter and added a water separator. Turned over a few times and no fuel. None in the filter and none in the lines. I added some fuel to the carb with a squirt bottle and turned it over a few times until it fired up. After about three or four rotations of adding fuel until it died again I noticed fuel in the filter. Mechanic friend told me that I was on the right track cause the mechanical fuel pump had to be turned over longer to get it to pick up when the lines were completly empty. I had thought I was going to have to change out the pump but all seems to be working fine now. Will probably go with an electric eventually but...,.
Dave