I have a 1988 1/2 ton Ford Pickup truck. ID # 1FTEX15N4JKA50028 It has 115,000 miles. The body is sound. It just won’t run. I bought it new in 1988. It uses gas not diesel. In the last 12 months it has had 6 new fuel pumps but wont run for very long. It is a secondary truck just used around the farm. My mechanic thinks it needs to be junked and is tired of working on it. Do we have any more options?
Sure you have options. Find a better mechanic. He has all but admitted he does not know how to fix it by telling you to junk it. He proved he didn’t know how to fix it by installing 6 pumps.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
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Do you have two fuel tank’s or only one?
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It’s not the fuel pumps. It’s the guy making the diagnosis; a.k.a. your mechanic. Way wild guessing.
There are several reasons why a pump won’t work. Inertia switch, faulty pump relay, or an intermittent ground inside the ECM.
It’s easy to check when the pump circuit is not working but I have no idea whether or not you have the mechanical skills to do a few tests.
I saw several Ford trucks from the late 80s with intermittent no starts caused by faulty ECMs as well as faulty fuel pump and ECM power relays. A good Ford mechanic should have a breakout box be familiar with tracking down such problems.
If connecting a low amp light from the tan/light green wire on the fuel pump relay to ground eliminates the intermittent no start the problem is likely the ECM. The light will not affect the operation of the fuel pump and will not discharge the battery and will not interfere with the emergency fuel pump shut off switch.
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Good ideas above. It’s also possible there’s gunk in the gas tank that is clogging up the fuel pumps nearly as fast as you are installing new ones. Ask your shop to take a fuel sample from the bottom of the tank. If it is contaminated, you may need to completely drain the tank, then remove the tank and have it flushed & cleaned. New fuel filter goes along w/this of course. You don’t have any kids there on the farm that might want to experiment what happens to a truck when sand is poured into the gas tank? 
If I had that problem myself I’d wire up a temporary volt meter in the passenger compartment that monitored the fuel pump’s power supply voltage.