Low fuel in the filter

Grab the fish bowl while the truck is running, and give it a firm push in every direction. If the bubbles get worse or stop while you're doing this, then the fish bowl is loose. Don't bother trying to use a strap wrench on them, since they're useless. Either get a plier type filter wrench, a model specific stamped wrench, or a hammer and a carbon scraper or chisel to persuade the lower ring into place once you're sure there is a good o-ring down there, and the retaining ring isn't cross threaded.

Had the same problem a few months ago when a rookie got sent out for his first cold start job. I knew something was wrong when he tried to take the filter off backwards, without using the petcock to drain the bowl first to boot. He got the new filter in there, but blew half my fuses by hooking up the jump starter wrong, so it got towed to the shop, and nobody checked his filter install skills, so I had another no-start the next day for the reason mentioned above.

Also check your fuel lines for leaks. Those nylon hoses rub through one another quickly, and suck up a lot of air, even through a pin hole.

 

That is why it sometimes is wise to take a crowbar to one's wallet and buy the right tool for the job. The Davco specific wrench is pretty cheap. I keep a couple of them around.

 

My 06 freightliner Columbia (MBE4000) is having a similar problem. The fuel filter never fills up and when idling the fuel inside splashes all over. It looks like boiling water there's so much air and I'm getting a really rough idle and acceleration. I'm not mechanically knowledgeable so I didn't understand the solution but I keep taking it to shops that can't figure it out. How to check/replace the fuel check valve to see if this is the problem?