I climbed under the car to see what's what, because the fuel was running to the back of the engine then to the ground, with everything above where I spliced in the plastic filter nice and dry. I found the leak- and also the lift pump of course- not visible from above. Anyway, I had ruptured the plastic line coming out of the lift pump. These get very brittle with age it would seem, so it split open while I was working the new rubber fuel hose down onto it. Easily fixed with more rubber hose, and the pump itself survived the ordeal.

Conclusion for other first time purgers- there is no risk to the lift pump by plugging that line while running Diesel Purge, as instructed in the link above. That is the part I was worried about. Just make sure it is very securely plugged.

Back in the saddle again--- and thanks for the tip!

Dave