Do it like THIS:
put the filter on the far left so it goes
FILTER>POND>POND
put both pumps at the far right pond, have that pump the water up to the filter
let water drain from the filter into the first pond
let water drain from the first pond into the second pond
let the pump push it back up to the filter
eassyyyyyy....
nice setup. post some update pics n get everything working.