Dogs can be so weird, my dog has a similar issue.. I have two containers for water, they are identical, but he can only drink from one.. he gets so thirsty but would rather wait for hours for me to refill one than drink from the other.
He also takes food from his bowl and drags it to the grass to eat.
I don't know what you can do really.. persevering hasn't helped with my dog. But give it more time, and perhaps let him get really hungry and then put something really tasty in the bowl, on top of the uneaten food.