Hi 'The Dude'....I would be very interested in how this bottoms out for you....I had exactly the same problem with a newly purchased P38 (mine took a week from purchase to start)...I looked to the forum for help and there was some very helpful replies all pointing to a worn EAS Pump/Seal (you can see the thread dated 3rd Feb. 2008. My dealer has been great and is sending me a new pump for me to fit.....just wondering whether your investigations throw up anything different.
when i had a proper chat with the garage it was not a hose but i have a receipt for a new servo pump that was fitted on Monday so iam hopeing thats what happened but it all seams to be working fine i will see how it goes off road this weekend.