I'm not sure where the rubber hose goes... this is a comment on the brake line.
The compression fitting used to connect the brake lines should be considered an emergency temporary fix and not a permanent one. You won't find any service manual directing you to repair a brake line this way. The correct way would be to flare the lines and use a union.
Those compression fittings can fail... probably when you need the brakes the most.
Be safe out there...
THANK YOU.
I will pick up a flaring kit and get to work. Probably will keep the truck parked until that's finished. I would never have noticed this or thought to question it since i've never worked on brake lines. Is it likely that this was a leak spot that someone patched? Or maybe they ran a whole new line but connected it the easy way. I should check out the rest of the lines and see if anything else has this type of connector.
Gonna get to work on the startup as well. Yesterday, upon paying attention to this, the fuel pump actually didn't fire up with the key the first go, then it worked the second and third times. So maybe it's the pump about to fail, or maybe it's the relay/control of the pump. Will be properly cleaning the electrical contacts inside spark plug connectors just to eliminate that. Already changed the plugs recently and should have done it then. When i did the manifold, i did pull one there just out of precaution and it looked healthy to me so that's good. The factor that confuses me the most is that i'm smelling a LOT of fuel smell when the starter has to spin for a few seconds before the engine turns over. To me that means unburnt fueled, meaning the fuel isn't the issue and that the engine isn't getting spark strongly to kick in. But other signs point to it being a fuel delivery issue, such as the faint smell of fuel once in a while near the drivers side when the truck is off. It could be both issues, naturally.
Here's something else i've been thinking about... a gradual engine flush. I don't want to hit the engine hard with a full dose engine flush such as liqui moly, since it could plug up the oil pump/screen with actual chunks of debris. However, i also don't want to completely ignore the idea of flushing the engine. I did an oil change recently, then a couple weeks later (maybe a hundred miles of local driving) i drained some out to make space for an additive, and that oil that i drained out was JET black sludge. It's amazing the engine is performing as well as it is, considering how thick it is inside. I'm wondering if there is a compromise, such as draining fully, then adding some super cheap oil and a 1/4 dose of flush additive, doing the procedure, draining, then doing that all over again literally 4 times in a row, then adding a good batch of oil for keeps. Maybe this will reduce the chances of plugging something up? I've also considered just ignoring additive completely and doing 3 or 4 oil changes rapidly, such as within the span of two weeks. I just don't know if that's a total waste of time and oil, and if the blackness will remain just as bad in the end and a solvent is needed to do this. Another idea would be using Shell Rotella-T 15-40 and doing a couple rapid changes. I think that oil supposedly helps to clean things a little bit?