So I just bought a 1989 Jeep Cherokee with 259k miles. No engine lights, slight oil leak but that is to be expected from a 4.0, especially one that is that high mileage. It drove perfectly for a few days, then the engine started to run a little rough. I checked to oil and it was pretty low. 3 bottles of oil and 50ish more miles its doing the same thing. Gets worse the longer I drive....Cuts out while accelerating, backfires, the more I push the pedal the more it backfires and RPMs drop. It gets so bad that all I can do is idle until I shut it off and turn it back on, then it runs fine at first, then starts all over again.

No lights on the dash or anything, but I don't necessarily trust that the bulbs are good.

The one thing that I thought of is the fuel pump, because the poor thing is struggling, audible over the exhaust. I rented a fuel pressure gauge from o'reillys but its currently in the shop getting a new tie rod and steering shock put in, as soon as I get it back (later today hopefully) I'll update the fuel pressure reading.

I would greatly appreciate any additional advice on possible issues.