on a budget as of now, we're college students, the pads have plenty of life left in them so we did not replace them. we only replaced 2 calipers, the other 2 are working as they should.

I will try bleeding them again, as we did not do it in that sequence. The master cylinder looks fine, I don't see any leaks, and its not rusted or worn. I have heard though, that it can develop leaks at the seams in the back and you will not be able to tell if thats the problem or not.

to me it would make sense that when we get vacuum (start the engine) the master cylinder starts leaking causing the brakes to feel soft. I'm hoping thats not it though

thanks for the suggestions, any more??