Marc,
Welcome to the world of diesels. If you are not familiar with these engines it may be prudent to get together with someone you know that is familiar with them and have them take a look and listen. Someone not familiar might think the acceleration, or lack there of, and noise is an indication of a problem when it may just be a diesel noodling along. Non turbocharged diesel's acceleration , 0-60 mph, is usually measured in minutes not seconds. A diesel's acceleration and quiet running are not it's strong suits. So again I suggest you hook up with someone familiar with these engines, you may find the engine is fine.

As for the battery; a diesel consumes little if any current during the running of the engine, car accessories are really the only draw on the system while engine is running. The engines do, however, use large amounts of a battery in the starting process between the draw by the glow plugs and the load put on the starter. I'm not sure what the details, or circumstances, of your battery drain down but if you post more details regarding your battery problem I suspect the list can offer you some advice. Good luck.

Rick