440 John Deere Crawler Dozer

On bleeding Detroit/GM Diesels if they run you don't need to bleed them. They do not have a high pressure pump with lines to each injector. The low pressure pump, mounted on the blower, supplies fuel to a fuel manifold on the head, the manifold supplies each injector via a supply pipe under the valve cover, the fuel flows through the injector body and out another pipe to the return fuel manifold and back to the fuel tank. The injectors inject fuel when the camshaft operates a rocker arm, pushing on the injector pump shaft. The injector itself is the high pressure pump. If you run a Detroit/GM out of fuel, you will have to prime it but if it will start you're fine. To prime them you have to remove the valve cover and loosen each supply pipe and crank the engine until clear fuel (no bubbles) runs out of the fitting. Don't run out of fuel, this is not a fun job.

I would check the fuel outlet on the tank. Sounds like the outlet or the tank shut-off valve is plugged.

Good Luck,
Lee