OK! My first rebuild. I should have known...

So finally tonight I am ready to crank my engine. I filled with 5 quarts of oil into the pan (figuring the entire engine is dry I can go a little above capacity). I crank... nothing. Crank some more a couple of times and still nothing moving. I have a mechanical gauge and I can see in the line coming off the racing beat adapter there is nothing. I pull the filter and nothing. So now I use my wonderful laptop and wireless internet and hit the SEARCH button.

I find this thread with my exact problem:
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...d+oil+pressure

I come to realize I did not prime the oil pump.
I tried all the steps of the "experts", and cannot get oil pressure to build I tried pouring some more oil into the "feed" of the filter pedestal. A few more cranks and nothing. I then remove my front oil cooler line off the block. No oil. I use a clean fuel hose and insert it, and fill it with some more oil. I turned the crank backwards in an attempt to work oil into the pump. I even blew the oil with light pressure through the hose into the block. I could even hear the oil moving around. I put the line back and crank a few more times. I'm not moving any damn oil!

What have I done wrong? By this time I have put 5.5 quarts into my engine and not a bit of it has made it to anywhere! I am worried I damaged something.

I re-read some posts and realized I was cranking with the plugs in. Tomorrow I will try cranking without any plugs so the engine can spin more freely. I also read that once the engine actually runs, it will build pressure quick. However I am not comfortable getting the engine started without a sign of any oil pressure.

FYI I have a brand new battery. I even jumped it to be sure I was getting a strong crank.