Hallo to all you seasoned mechanics out there....

I'll start at the beginning; I have a 93 Fourtrak 2.8TDL that's been fine since I replaced the heater matrix, starting spot on every time (much to the consternation of my French counterparts, who've not even heard of Daihatsu!), however, this afternoon I went out turned the key & got clouds of smoke & very rough starting/cutting out, a number of times. Once running I held it at 2000 rpm for as long as possible & each time it just dropped in revs & died. After retracing my footsteps a bit, it dawned on me that I'd left it near empty of fuel for 2-3 days (possibly more) so checked the forums on this site for anything obviously similar. Read a few posts & subsequently checked fuel filter & the "bleeding" (if that's the right term)instructions on the housing. Having undone the tap & let forth with the fuel for what I considered a reasonable time I tried the purging pump/button/thing on top, only to find that there's a pin-hole near the base of the housing which is why, I suppose, I had diesel over part of the engine compartment beneath the filter; you see, it all becomes clear when you talk it through..... Anyway, my question is, this can't be normal, can it? Pin holes, I mean, & is my diagnosis somewhere approaching being right? After replacing the fuel filter will it be necessary to purge the system further in any way, or are these things simply "plug & play" so to speak?
Any info. very gratefully received.

Yours MJ