Why waste brake fluid? When I'm trying to diagnose a problem such as this, I adapt an air hose and a blow gun to the brake lines, and operate the brakes with compressed air instead of fluid. It's cleaner and more convenient, and once the brakes are functioning on air pressure, I reconnect the lines, fill the master cylinder with clean fluid, and bleed the system. I leaned that trick when we were fabricating disc brake systems for race cars, using air pressure to clamp the calipers to the rotors while we built custom caliper brackets.
Jerry