brake issues, out of ideas...

I will try bench bleeding and let you know. Fingers crossed!

One thing I'm concerned with, the master cylinder I removed orignally did not have the piston retainer in place, it was a cheesy tab (which bent), so I made a new bracket, but is the piston supposed to be flush or inset in the back of the mc? Mine is flush, I don't see a way air could get in from behind but I'm not sure my bracket design was correct.