For a large pipe the surface tension effects are tiny and 20-30 ft is all that is possible. For very narrow pipes (say 3mm or less) then the “negative pressure” due to surface tension allows for greater heights.
Pressure would not be directional, while stress is multi-dimensional not only in 3d sapce but also torsions.
To answer in a bit more detail, stress has 9 components in 3-dimensional space (or 16 in 3+1 dimensional space), of which 6 (or 10) are independant. It often happens, for many materials, that the 1,1 component, the 2,2 component, and the 3,3 component all have the same value, in which case that value is called the pressure.
Now that the scientific details have been answered (and very competently,) please allow me to point out that your experiment moves water in a very inefficient way. If you allow the pickup tube to draw in twice as much air as water, the flow is much faster. For a given airflow, drawing uninterrupted water is much slower, and you’ll never get much lift.
This opinion draws on decades of experience in picking up stormwater in a 49 acre factory. Even with our massive wet-vacs, trying to pull all water, and no air, would stall out the devices. You have to let the air push the water through the hose. I could empty a 50 gallon trash can of water in about two minutes if I let it “slurp,” but if I dropped the hose to the bottom of the barrel, the hose filled up with water, and flow stopped.
Yes, I realize that I have ignored the restrictions in the OP. However, doing that experiment could lead you to believe that using a partial vacuum to move water is nearly useless. Gripe at me if you like, but the practical truth should be known.