Dale wrote:

I knew it was a pump ;-) but I thought there was a crank-like siphon that
could be attached at the end of the hose to get a really good vacuum going.
As it is, I'm draining about a gallon a week. Maybe I just need to go and
rent a sump pump.

The driving potential is the height differential between the upper and
lower ends...the initial pressure drop is immaterial to subsequent flow
rate. The problem is a garden hose is such small diameter you're losing
it all in friction losses, most likely.