98 300TD won't start

[fas]

Guys I am new to this forum. Here is the story. I purchased my 98 E300TD last year with 80K miles on it. It was a dealer maintained vehicle. It ran perfect for few months until low sulpher diesel was introduced in Oct last year. There was a noticeable diesel smell coming from the front of the car; however, it had no problem starting and ran fine. The smell grew stronger within next few months and the car had trouble starting. I noticed diesel leak from the shut-off valve as well as lot of diesel fuel collected in the plastic shield/tray under the engine. I took it to the dealer who confirmed that it was the shut-off valve seal.

I did my research on this forum printed out the instructions for seal replacement and replaced the seal, but the car won’t start. There is no fuel coming to the injectors. So far I have done the following:

Filled the diesel filter with new diesel

Followed the self priming procedures (crank 20 seconds rest 30 seconds); repeated 40 times

Checked for any leaks around the shutoff valve (none found)

Checked shut-off valve solenoid. It clicks each time I turn the ignition on.

3 quarters diesel in the tank

Still not a drop of diesel at the injectors.

I think there is still air in the fuel system. I have worked with older MB diesels in the past with manual prime pumps. This is my first time dealing with a self priming system. Is there a better way to prime other than the cranking procedure? I am afraid I will burn the starter if I continued. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.