A friend mentioned the fuel pressure regulator as being another possible cause, but that costs almost as much as a new fuel pump. Any chance that is it, or are the already mentioned symptoms more indicative of the pump itself?

 

Ya know, since you have a meter it might just be smart to go ahead and test that CPS. The fact that TJ is pretty sharp, and you can hear the pump running , it just makes sense. It took me three minutes alone. (with small clips on my meter leads). Unplug it. Connect to the wires going to the CPS. Measure the AC voltage it produces while cranking. I'm barley over the bar, (or hanging on it!) at .3 V. I guess .5 to .8 is more like it.

 

For anyone curious... Finally got a little bit of time this weekend to pull the fuel pump. Turns out, the rubber hose that goes to the output had melted and fallen apart. No idea what caused it other than age, but the hose was just goo, and had degraded enough that when the pump started working, it was just pumping the gas right back into the tank instead of into the output line. A five inch piece of fuel line later, and it's back running in perfect condition.

 

Hey, Cool, glad you got it.....thanks for getting back..

AND, WHOOPS! 90 WAS THE LAST YEAR YOU CAN TEST CPS VOLTAGE