When I initially depress the fuel primer bulb, it works fine 1-2 times, then it compresses but does not re-inflate with fuel... it stays compressed and may take an hour of so before it is back to normal. Since it takes 10x compressions prior to starting the engine, this thing isn't working at all.

Hi,
Something is going on inside the carb. The way the system works is that the purge(primer) causes fuel to be pulled through the fuel filter to the carb, through the carb on both sides, then out of the carb and to the purge itself and finally dumped back into the tank through the overflow line.
Peace,
Clarke