pump for random use

Are there any pumps out there that would be good for automating their on and off with an electric timer, in particular, is there one out there that when primed one time, will be good forever after no matter how many times it is turned back off or on? Mine seems to lose its prime as soon as I turn it off. I have a Wayne 1HP stainless steel model.
http://www.hechinger.com/web/catalo...g-176094&cid=4D3313A4FEA2AF609B3663593A232024

I have also noticed that the hose seems to cave in when the pump is turned on, which implies to me that the pressure needed to get the water up from the lake is causing the garden hose to cave in.

Its not hooked up backwards is it....or is the motor running backwards?

1. You need a foot valve at the end of the pipe in the lake, and no check valve anywhere else. There should be no leaks in the suction pipe.

2. The pump should be located as low as possible and as close as possible to the lake. That will help the prime, performance, and collapsing pipe probelm. It will also help maintain prime if the discharge pipe is above the pump so some water will be available to run back.

3. You should use not less than 1" polyethylene for the suction pipe. Garden hose should not be used for suction pipe. 1 1/4" pipe would be better.

Thanks, I bought a foot valve and reinforced garden hose, and it seemed to help. I have the timer running 3 times a day for half an hour. It loses its prime every so often (could go Ok for days, then stop one day), so I'm thinking the distance is a factor now. I'd say the pump is about 50' from the lake and probably 8' higher than the lake level.
the only possible leak could be at the pump inlet, but I cant really tell if that is the culprit. The Wayne pump came with a 1"NPT to garden hose adapter, but there are no rubber gaskets and I dont see any place a gasket could rest against, so I just have it threaded on there with Teflon tape.
I think the next step will be like you said, move the pump down towards the lake, and make the suction line all plastic. Just not sure of the proper way to protect the joint where i need to plug the pump into an extension cord.

Forget garden hose for suction. If you want reliability, use PVC pipe.