so i had an issue with my tbi, i wasn't getting any fuel to the tb. pulled the rear axle out (junked it), cut off the old exhaust ( P.O. decided to replace the cat with a 1 1/4" pipe and do some crappy rigging so i figure I'd attempt to figure out a good dual exhaust with my sub frame connector i plan on installing), and dropped the old tank. cracked that ring open and (you can use a flat head and a hammer if your careful) pulled out the sending unit to look at the pump. everything was covered in this black tar and rust. so i decide at that point to replace the tank and pump. btw the pump was missing the connection hose from it to the sending unit. went to my local radiator shop to see what could be salvaged. they weren't very much help. they wanted way too much to dip anything and then couldn't replace the plastic baffle in it after they were done. so they ordered a new tank and sending unit for me. waited the two weeks and they came in. the old tank and sending unit i took to them they decided to junk before the new stuff came in and that turned out to be a huge issue later. went and bought the pump for the tpi cars i figure id eventually like to put one in at a later time. I've read that you can do that and it wont cause any issue, it excess fuel pumped will just return to the tank. hook all this stuff together and tried to put it in. yes i bought new straps and anti-squeak kit. sanded off any rust painted the underneath with undercoating and attempted to install. here is where tossing the old tank became a problem. the new tanks filler tube was not installed correctly. it was at the wrong angle. radiator shop wont take it back because ive attempted to install and there are some scratches. (B.S.). well so i take it to my bests friends shop we heat up the filler neck and twist it. if you do this please make sure you havent put any fuel in it!! got it back home grind-ed down the heated spot, self etch primer and some paint. ready to go in, i hope. put the sending unit back in it it slides right in and straps right in place. hook all the lines up and plug in the pump. fill it with 2 1/2 gal of fuel, put the cap on plugged in the battery and attempted to start. NOTHING!!!! no whine, no gurgle, no nothing. checked the fuse looked at all the connections. everything is good, so it must be the tank. going to drain it and drop it again and pull the sending unit to see if something in there got jacked up. if anyone has any ideas I'm open to suggestions. everything looked ok going in. if anyone knows how to test the pump outside of the tank please let me know. ill try to put up some pics later. i have a few with the new tank in in my albums if interested.
thanks,
james

 

I have distilled your post down to the area I want to address . No where in your post do I see mention of a voltmeter being used to determine whether or not electricity is actually getting to the pump . Were this mine to diagnose , I'd be using the voltmeter to determine if power is getting there before I went pullin the tank , again , for something that could possibly be external to the tank .

Get a meter , unplug the connector and connect the meter to the proper terminals , and then turn the key on and see if voltage is in fact present .

PS , in a desperate pinch , an automotive 12V test light could sub for the meter ......

 

So my brother has a unit to test the wiring. I don't really know which wire to test? I know one goes to the fuel pump and the other to the fuel gauge. I figure it should have 12 volts on both wires and the third should be the ground for the two??? Is there a certain ohms they are suppose to have? I'm not sure how to test that. Any clarification on testing the wiring and socket is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
James

 

Only the gray wire should have 12v. The purple wire is to the sending unit and it'll be a ground. The black wire is a chassis ground that is shared for the sending unit and the pump.

 

That's bro, I'm gonna be getting back to it tomorrow. The ls1 axle I ordered just showed up Wednesday so I need to get this bird running again. Ill keep this link running till I figure everything out.