A couple of questions:
You state that you can bleed it and it will
lower. Where did you bleed it at/from?
You also state that when you restart it
theft will rise again. What position is the
lift handle in when you do this?
For the sake of conversation, I'm going to
assume your lift handle was in the up
position.
If so, your unloading valve is sticking -
common problem.
First, if you don't have one get an I&T FO-
31 manual. Available from this site at the
link below.
You will need to remove the heavy lift cover
under your seat to get at the unloading
valve. While you are in there, replace the
seals in the lift piston and replace the
cam flower pin - just because.
The seals for the lift piston come as a kit
with a new gasket for the top cover which
you need anyway. The kit is only like $15 or
so - also available from this site.
Don't use goop or dope or pucky on the
gasket. Put it on dry.
Big plus to have a helper to remove the lift
cover as it is awkward to lift alone.
None of this is hard or complicated.
Welcome to the Ford Board.
That is an outstanding model tractor.
manual