The fuel lift pump is a diaphram pump that only puts out 3-4 pounds of pressure. Pull the hose from the pump to the filter housing. Put your finger over it and crank the engine. If fuel tries to spray out of the hose, you're good. If the filter is plugged at all, the lift pump won't push fuel through. Also, a member had posted he had something in the bottom of his tank where the fuel exits, no filter there, and it restricted the fuel flow which is gravity fed to the fuel lift pump. Pull the hose from the tank to the lift pump and see if the fuel flows out of the hose. Another member posted he had a problem with his fuel tank cap not bleeding air and it cause a vacuum in the tank. As the other members posted, it sounds like fuel starvation and the 2004 model years aren't known for injection pump problems. My 2004 has 600 hours and all is good. Fuel filter numbers if you don't have a Kioti dealer close or a Bobcat dealer and same as a Bobcat CT225: AC-DELCO TP1374,BALDWIN PF717, CARQUEST 86507,CHAMP L549F,DONALDSON P502161,FLEETGUARD FF5103,FORD SBA130366060,Fram C10517,HASTINGS FF882
HENGST E77KP,INTERCONTINENTAL AUTO PARTS ALG-7531,ISEKI 151310231100,ISEKI 151310232900,JOHN DEERE T111383
KOMATSU YM129100-55650,KRALINATOR F680,KUBOTA 15521-43160,LUBER-FINER L549F,LUBER-FINER L5603F
MAHLE KX185,MASSEY-FERGUSON 3702815-M1,MELROE 6695912,MITSUBISHI MM433093,NAPA 3507, NEW HOLLAND SBA130366060,PUROLATOR F54557,SOFIMA S6681N,UFI 26.681.00,WIX 33507,YANMAR 129100-55650