[rpmerf]

I'd start with cleaning it down with brake clean, then attempt bleeding again. That way, if any NEW fluid shows up, you know it came from the wheel cylinder.

Some other brake bleeding tips. If you are leaving the bleeder open while pumping, wrap the threads in teflon tape to prevent sucking air from around the threads while the bleeder is open. The better method is to have one person open the bleeder, another press the pedal, close the bleeder, release the pedal. This can help prevent sucking air in from around the bleeder. The reason pressure bleeding works, is it is always pushing, never pulling, so it will not pull in air from around the bleeder (or anyplace that is leaking). Similarly for vacuum bleeding, but you can see bubbles in the vacuum line that are pulled form around the thread, or a bad seal between the vac hose and bleeder nipple. Vacuum bleeding will also pull air IN at any leaks in the system.

A couple issues. Bubbles down like moving downward. If you leave the bleeder open, the bubble can move forward and back without ever getting pushed out.

Never let the master run dry or you have to start over from square 1.