Deep well pump malfunction
Hmmm. Pour water to activate it sounds like a Jet pump. Replace it with a submersible pump (Two-wire is more reliable than 3-wire in the modern era, I think - not to mention the wire costs less and on the comparable models I was comparing could also be one size smaller.) 

Jet pumps are a holdover from a bygone era when electric motors were much less reliable, and are both troublesome and shockingly inefficient (power in compared to water out) .vs. a deep well submersible pump.