Awesome, thanks for the input folks. I am going to try the method of least effort first—ie, a "cleaning" as described with oil and Marvel Mystery Oil, and few oil changes. If that fails, I will look into pulling the motor and replacing the pump.
So should I pull out that spring that appears to be inside the nipple? Or is that factory? I am wondering if it is part of the old seized oil filter that would not give up the ghost. I had to really destroy that old 23+ year old filter to get it off.
As for the discussion on fuel, I replaced the fuel pump, sending unit, and all fuel lines before trying to start the engine. The inside of the tank looked like it came off the Titanic!
Oh, also, the idiot light sending unit doesnt want to come off. I can keep working at it, but is there any other location to hook up a mechanical gauge? Thanks!