[diesel_john]

cycle the key a couple times, can you hear the fuel pump load up.

the vw has a safety to prevent hitting the starter when the engine is running, but also won't key start if i cut injector pump power until i cycle the key to off.

totally different reason than cycling for the gas engine, some fuel pump relays have a built in timer which only runs the in tank pump for a few seconds to purge to fuel rail. but it is always a good idea to turn the key to on and wait for a couple seconds before going on to the start positon.