Aspeed,
One of the tricks with diesel when first learning how they work is to use a little bigger prop. This give you a little leverage on flipping them and has a little weight to keep it running/ The first diesel I tried to run was an OK Cub 0.074. We tried this on a 6x3 which would have been good for a glow engine of the size. Of course I over primed (something you do not want to do with diesel) and it was mean! On a hunch I put a 7x4 wood prop on it and only choked a couple turns for a prime and BAM off it went, no problem. As I learned the fast diesel flick I reduced the prop to a 6 1/2" diameter and flew many happy flights.

Best, DennisT