Jesmed: I (a total mechanical novice) have not changed the fuel filter since I bought the truck. I think it just needed to be changed. Although there could be sediment in the tank. I will check it out when I go to change the fuel pump (as I am suspecting I will be doing).
Oldbodyman: Your suspicions are correct. I’ve put 2 new fuel pumps on this truck and 0 fuel filters. The filter was awful and I just bet the pump suffered the consequences.
SOLVED My research and intuition led me to believe that it was somehow the fuel pump (even though I had heard it working). So I took the pump out and GUESS WHAT?! The hose that carries the fuel from the pump to the line was detached from the female end INSIDE the pump. So even though the pump was working, the fuel was just spraying out of that hose back into the tank!
Evidently, the fuel FILTER was so clogged up that it caused significant pressure to build up in the fuel line causing this hose to pop out of the female end (it was only held in place by wedging it tightly into the female end).
So, being that I had already replaced the fuel filter in this venture, I just wedged the hose back into place, put it all back together, jumped her off, and CRANKED HER UP!
Have any of you heard of this before??