Sounds like the piston may be stuck up into the fuel distributor. Does the plate move real easy. This of course is a loaded question if you have never felt one that is working properly.

I guess one way of judging it would be whether the plate feels the same with the key off or when cranking. Normally if you have fuel pressure (which you won't unless cranking) the plate resists movement and pushing it down causes a slight screaming sound from fuel running through the injectors into the motor (something one doesn't want to do much of). If you were to get the fuel pump to work with the engine off and were to remove a single line from the dist to injector, it would be proper for no fuel to be coming out of the dist. If the piston is stuck down the fuel will flow when the pump runs even without the plate deflected. If you felt the plate in such a situation it would move with a breath to the point of contact to the piston and then get hard.

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Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician