Chainsaw Repair

kill: thanks for the offer  but I have a couple to try out on it but I don't think it's the pump. just took it all apart and everything looks good. smooth, tight and easy to turn with no hang ups or rough spots. i'm just going to replace the line and grommet and toss it back together.

spike: thanks for chiming in. that's what's so perplexing about this. it isn't really leaking. the oil is pushing past the pump and coming out only at the end of the tube where it should. tanks vent is fine imo. if there was a pressure build up in the oil tank, it would be spitting oil out of the vent (?).
just never seen oil flow 'uphill' enough to pretty well empty the tank unless it was 'pushed'. but with the saw not running, and no temperature swings etc., and the vent working properly. this has me questioning what i'm missing