defender td5 starting issues

hi guys
i have been having a weird starting problem for the past few months. there are weeks that the defender will just start in the first turn of the key whereas on several other weeks it will start after maybe 5 or 6 times. in the period of difficult start it will also be very slow in all of the gears, only a restart clears that problem and it will drive/react normal again. climate should not be an issue since i'm in a tropical country.
any comments are greatly appreciated!

fueling problem

Willl try to check that, but does the restart also have influence on the fuel pump. Or is the fuel pump also monitored by the ecu

before starting turn the key on and pump the pedal 6 times to prime the system

may have to do it a few times if its a fuel pressure problem it may start better first time after doing that

hi guys,

i took out the fuel pump and cleaned the inside of the pump by putting diesel inside, shaking it and then pouring it in a clean container to see if anything dirty. and yes, there was some grime kind of things coming out. rinse and repeat afew times to get all out. car started in the first turn!, and the same this morning. unfortunately the fuel meter has started to act crazy, going back and forth, will have to open it again

hi,
fuel meter still not fixed, i removed the pump again, checked if the floater was moving freely; which was the case. sometimes the meter goes to normal and then just goes back in the red zone. is this an electrical issue? any help is great, don't want to drive it empty!