Chuckasaurus

My brake pedal stays down when you step on it. I have to physically lift it up with my foot. The spring seems to be in place, but the pedal just doesn't want to spring back up when you step on it. Has anyone experienced this?

I just got an '83 Venture, and the brake lever seemed pretty soft, so I checked the fluid in the reservoir at the front brake lever (it was full). I decided to bleed the brakes, and I started with the right front caliper, which bled as it was supposed to, and started giving a little more pressure to the brake lever. So I proceeded to the left front caliper, and it won't bleed at all. Do I need to use a vacuum bleeder on this? And I did some searching on this forum, and someone mentioned the back brake line is connected to the front brake line. Is this true? I've never had such a time bleeding a brake caliper before.