I'll give you my two cents. My 226d had the same symtoms as yours.
I noticed this black like slime in the fuel filter. I took of the hose at the tank and nothing came out, then I saw this black like slime blocking the way.
I decided to do the right thing and remove the tank. It was a slight bit of pain, as I had to remove the steering wheel, disconnect the electrical connections, the ignition switch, decompression lever, tach cable, disconnect the power shift. Once I got the tank out, I drained it completely, filled it with some diesel and shook it violently, drained it again, repeated that process a few times, then drained again, and this time put the air hose inside, and blew it out from both the top and the where the diesel line hooks up.
After I put it all back together , it runs as if new. Not one miss, feels stronger than ever.
I'm not sure what the black gunk was, but I am most sure that was clogging the line thus limiting fuel and causing air to get in the line.