Since I don't have any friends...

Fairly early on I spread a thick coating of grease to keep air out of the threads around the lower portion of the bleed screw which I've done on other car's brake systems with good results. It didn't make a bit of difference.

It's certainly not helped that the bleed screw's threads are very coarse. I accept that the bleed screws on the 40 to 60 year old Alfa's I restore aren't ideal. But by 2007 every car maker should use relatively long, fine threaded bleed screws. There are some aftermarket bleed screws which will work for a few brake bleeds, but their special coating on the threads start leaking air after that.

Once again I have to ask, does the ABS require a specific way of bleeding the brakes?