Ok so I believe I have a faulty, leaky autosiphon. It has never worked with the tubes that came with it and does not create the initial suck no matter how I pump it. Earlier I "solved" it by starting the siphon with my mouth. I know it is not hygienic, but did not figure out another way to get the damn thing to work. Then today it occured to me. Although tiny, I consider it a bit of a moment of genius. By using the turkey baster/wine thief at the end of the tube, I could hygienically create the suck needed. It was very controlled as it could be done pretty much on level with the source bottle. Then fitting it to the bottom of the target container was a piece of cake.

Could make the initial suck with the wine thief and then attach the bottling wand as well.

For most this tip will be useless as you are blessed with a working siphon. But for us with crappy products, this works wonders.