a/c not holding vacuum

ok, so i spent all night fighting with a new a/c hose, the big funky manifold one. I also put in a new dryer.

the new a/c hose only came with on size of metal gaskets. The have a rubber inner section. This meant I had to use the old one for the small tube down by the radiator drain.

that same tube was also too big so i had to sand it just a little.

the bolt for the big tube connecting to the dryer was too short and started stripping the dryer threads. so i put in a longer lag bolt with washer and nut, because i couldn't find any thing in my junk to fit the threads.

the new a/c hose came with three green orings, two one size and one that was smaller.

when i took every thing apart i looked at each fitting. I didn't see any orings, so i didn't put new ones in, just the metal / rubber washer gasket things.

i double checked all but on bolt, the one behind the compressor. all the bolts are tight.

so after spending all night swearing and dying of concrete bruising i ran a vacuum test. I have one of those vacuum pumps you can rent with the gages and hoses.

i ran it for 5 minutes, 10, 15, maybe not quiet 20. I noticed it would pull down to two marks before 30 Hg (don't know if i got that right but below zero). It would just sit there and not go any lower, just like before the repairs in which case I new i had a leak in a hose.

as soon as i shut the valves and turn of the pump it returns to zero in a few seconds, maybe 20 or so. Not even minutes or hours, seconds. When I pull a vacuum it only takes a couple of minutes to get to 27ish 28ish that same spot, don't know if that matters how quick it vacuums down.

i evacuated the a/c before i took any thing apart, and ran the same style vacuum test. So the system was empty, and is still empty.

any ideas?

how do i perform a UV dye test? Do I need a freon charge to do this? I know I will need about 1 oz of oil for the new dryer. But can I UV dye test without a full charge? I don't have a recovery tank, so that limits what I can do with any thing i put in the system that can't get out on its own.


thanks

kool-aide

well, to avoid spending another long day i spent the 18 bucks to have the local shop leak test it. it turns out one of the gaskets was bad / wrong. They replaced it, and all is well and ice cold. not too bad. I took a closer look at one of the left over gaskets. It certainly looks as if it goes on in a certain direction so when it compresses it makes a seal.