Re the fuel surge tank. Id also want to eliminate that as a problem as well. Id run the motor off a soda pop bottle of diesel in the engine bay and see what it does, just to eliminate that as a possibility.

The surge tank sounds more complex than just dropping the stock tank and ripping out the fuel pump. Whats the stock fuel pressure spec? the pump could also be acting as a restriction, is it an on demand pump? does it shut off with back pressure? Either way, its worth it to simulate a stock vacuum only diesel fuel system and see if thats related to the power issue

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