Ok; I spent some time with the ole girl today. I pulled the sending unit and there was no sock on the bottom. Strangely enough, there's evidence that there was one once but I don't find it in the tank (wonder if it's in my fuel pump). I blew air through the pickup and it seems that there was some yuk in there but nothing that would have blocked it completely. I blew air through all lines and they seem clear. I had installed a clear plastic filter at the bottom of the tank. I swear I doubled checked it but it was in backwards. My guess is that was the problem.
I ordered a new pickup from Chevy Duty and I'm going to replace that rubber line between the line coming out of the sending unit and the line going along the frame (it's threaded on both ends).
I'm going to clean up and paint the floor and the lower part of the cab rear wall; paint the tank and replace all rubber componenets. And then I'm going to go for a nice long cruise and finally enjoy my new engine.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
