nothing really makes any sense, have you done a pressure test?. you said you took it to a mechanic and they couldn't figure it out did they do a pressure test?, maybe there is a crack in the upper part of the reservoir tank? bad cap like James mentioned? looking at the picture of your reservoir tank again it looks like where you have the capped off line connected there is some coolant/corrosion under it and it looks like there may be cracks in the tank right there? not sure that would cause the problem but I would take a closer look. I would even go so far as to guess since capping that line makes pressure and then it works right, then the reservoir tank/cap is maybe the problem, a new tank and cap aren't much money wise for like a dorman I think a dorman is like $25-30 and maybe slightly more at the dealer for a oem one