Mike,
A couple of months ago, Pastor Bob posted a trick he used (which I should have saved to a file) that seemed very clever. I can't repeat it verbatim, but I believe he kept the reservoir cover off, and one at a time opened the bleeder valves, in the proper order. He used a gravity drain to fill the lines before closing the valve. All the while making sure the reservoir level didn't drop too low. Then after all were done, went through a traditional (although quicker) bleeding process.
Anyone alse remember this? All my years of doing brakes, I never thought of something so simple.