Clogged drain or pump without prime. Pics attached.

[extrememike]

Plaster pool. Built circa 1985. The pool was dirty with debris and leaves. I was able to drain it successfully and shut slider the pump after all water was gone. HIgh pressure washed the inside wall and attempted to start the pump to clear standing water. Pump would not suck. Cleared water with bucket, removed drain cover. Cleared debris and leaves from drain and pump basket. Tried again without luck.

Is my drain line clogged? Or is that my pump will it prime due to low water level??

Attached some pics of the pool equipment. Wondering what the other suction line to the pump is for?

[Teapot]

Pool pumps won't prime from just the bottom drain, could be partially because the pump is sucking air through the skimmer pipes and partly because it's too far and too high to draw the water. If I have understood properly, no pictures showing.

[extrememike]

Sorry pics attached this time. I have two suction lines coming to the pump I guess one comes from the drain and the other from the skimmers. Not sure what the other low is for? Pulling the standing water with a bucket took me over an hour. I was thinking on running a water hose thru the skimmers to see if it primes. What is the proper way to att je this problem?

[Teapot]

Wow, that's one of the worst plumbing jobs I have seen. The other low one, might go into the bottom of one of the skimmers? Yes you can put the hose down one of the skimmers but try to block the other one or fill that as well. The water will soon get drawn into the pump and then you'll be back to the same problem, drawing air. You need to be able to block the skimmers and possibly that other low fitting as well to get it to run off the main drain. Or is that low fitting a return?

[extrememike]

Not sure what that low fitting is for. Here is a better pic showing the lines coming from the ground. The 2 to the right are hooked to the pump intake the one to the far left goes to a Chlorinator. That cut pipe not sure what it does. Just moved to this house. Also the top pic shows how much water is still left standing. I need to understand whether the pool needs to be resurfaced as I have plaster falling from the walls already. Not sure what newer product are the now for that purpose or water that can be repaired

[Teapot]

If you have a shop vac or even your garden hose put it down the cut pipe and let the water go to see if it comes out of that low fitting. Might have been a vacuum point that didn't get connect to the pump maybe? You need to identify where things go to and maybe make a sketch.