3/8ths from pump to the sock in the tank. I ran mine inside the P-side framerail, into the area at the front perch of the rear spring. There I installed a life-time EFI fuel filter , then more hard line to the sender which I took apart and installed more 3/8ths hard line then a new 3/8ths sock. I joined the hardline to the sender with EFI rated hose and double-clamped it with gear-clamps. That EFI line lasted 22 years, with a steady diet of 87E10.
At the front, My engine is chained down, so it doesn't move much. There I pulled the line out of the frame, left a short gap, then an EFI jumper. From pump to carb is a one-piece isolated from the block, and not clamped to anything hot. Works great.
Now, as to your hotstart issue, this goes back to the transfer-Slot exposure underneath the primary throttles.
1) If you are running a lot of Idle-Timing, then to get the Idlespeed down, you will have backed the curb-idle screw out, which reduced the fuel coming from the transfers. In compensation, you had to increase the fuel coming from the mixture screws. At start up, the lack of signal to the transfers, means the engine will yank real hard on the mixture screws. And if there is any T-slot exposure at all, the engine will, yank air thru the slot, and dry it right up, in a heartbeat. But hang on, with the idle mixture screws set rich, your entire lowspeed circuit, when off-idle, will also be rich. That means, it was rich when you shut it off, and the still going up and down pistons, sucked a bunch of fuel in, until the crank finally stopped. If this applies to you, the cure is simple, just reset the Idle timing to 12>14, lean out the mixture screws to in the middle of their range, and increase the Idle speed with the speed screw, Badaboom, now the T-slot will quit early at shutdown, the Mixture screws won't get tugged on so hard, and the slots will probably hold some fuel for the next start.
2) if you are not running enough Idle timing, the opposite will happen.
3) when it is just right, and the guel level is where it is supposed to be, you should be able to, with the mini starter, reach in thru the open window, twist the key, and the engine will spring to life.
BTW,
it is a myth that more timing makes an engine easier to start. Once you have your engine set just right, do this; get a baseline by twisting the key and let it fire up on it's own, and make a note over the next say ten starts and record how many fails there were.
Next, reset your idle timing 5 degrees more advanced, and repeat, then repeat at 5 degrees retarded; then compare the failure rates.
The truth is this; and this is not directed at anyone specific, just a general "you";
I'll guess that unless your timing is locked at 35 degrees, ALL Hi-performance engines idle with retarded timing. My guess is that once they are idling, they will be most efficient at between 30 and 40 degrees.
But good luck driving away (unless you are running a Vcan on manifold vacuum). So ask yourself, if it wants say 35, and you give it either 12 or 20, how much difference is this gonna make , it's STILL retarded!
I really hate to say "trust me", but
if you are running 20ish degrees of Idle-Timing, just retard the thing to 12>14, retune it, and see what happens.
