Car won't start - After fuel leak

My 2002 Jetta sprung a leak from the fuel return line (fuel was squirting out while the engine was running). This was the small return line from the injector to the pump, not the larger line to the filter. I turned off the engine, popped the line off, and popped on a new piece of hose. Now the car won't run.

It starts, gets to idle speed, then shuts down. If I put my foot to the floor while it is starting, the RPMs will go over 2K, but it still shuts down just as quick.

I'm new to the diesel thing, so I'm not entirely sure how everything works and how sensitive things are. But my logic is that it was running when the line broke and the engine didn't shut off, so I would't expect to have an issue starting it. Is the issue that I really do need to bleed the whole system?

Elapsed time from leak to repair was about two hours. Thank you.

There should be an air bubble in the clear line from the fuel filter to the injector pump.
If not you may need to bleed the fuel line.

Basically with the key on (not running) you use a vacuum pump to suck fuel from the pump return line while you have the -return- line from the filter to the tank pinched.
Gets the air out of the feed portion.

If the car still starts and runs a few seconds you may not have to bleed the injector lines while cranking.
Have some rags under the injectors, loosen the 4 lines at the injectors and have someone crank the engine until fuel comes out w/o air spits.

Search here for bleed fuel (or injector) for more info.

You generally only need to crack one injector line nut; it makes a LOT less mess than cracking all of them!

The way I usually do this is:

1. Remove the line from the outlet of the filter and apply vacuum until fuel (and no air) comes out. Replace line to IP.

2. Crack ONE injector line nut (#1) and wrap it in a cloth. Crank until you have fuel coming from the nut (helps if you have someone else so you can see when it starts flowing; it won't take long.)

3. Snug #1 back up and crank -- it should start but will run roughly for a few seconds as only one cylinder will be firing until the air is expelled from the other three injectors.

If it fires and then dies shortly after starting, and it's not the immobilizer or run solenoid wiring, there's a decent chance the thermal T on the filter is cracked or the O-rings are damaged and as soon as the engine starts the vacuum from the lift pump in the IP draws air into the system at the filter, which results in an immediate shutdown. A very small amount of air will be tolerated by the pump but any material amount will prevent it from building pressure in the injector line and thus no fuel goes into the cylinders.