First I had to cut a couple 5 inch blocks. After removing the bolt from each engine mount I reinstalled the bolts and slid the blocks underneath.
I was told that getting the pan out would be a terrible pain, but it couldn't have been easier. I drained the oil last night so that the windage tray and all the components could drip all night. I removed the fan blade so it wouldn't hit the shroud and removed the starter. I also unbolted the exhaust from the manifolds. I ended up having to remove the rubber fuel lines between the pump and the hard lines to give more room for the engine to move. The pan came out with plenty of room to spare and there was practically no mess at all.
When I pulled the pan I found debris in the bottom. Closer inspection showed that these were probably the pieces that resulted from when I had to tap the timing cover because the fuel pump bolt was stripped out. The milky look of the oil is from all of the break in additives dissolved in the oil.
With the pan out of the way I found that the pump screen was still intact, so that revealed the screen falling off wasn't the problem.
I found that I didn't even have to remove the windage tray to get the pump off. The pump shaft that goes up and connects to the distributor installs from the bottom, so you have to be careful when you pull the pump down to not let it fall out and hit you on the head.
This was the big moment. I removed the cap and spring to get to the check ball. If there was no trash here that would mean the trouble was in another, unknown location. If I opened this valve up and didn't find a problem it would mean that I would have to pull the engine again and have it completely disassembled to find the problem.
Success. I found trash had wedged the ball into the housing. If you look close you can see the biggest piece between the ball and the wall of the housing at the 11 o'clock position. It wouldn't even budge and I had to take some tools and pry it out with some difficulty.
After the ball was out I found more trash in this area, behind the ball.
I took the pump down to a local shop and used their parts cleaner to thoroughly clean the entire pump and all of its pieces, after I disassembled it. When I put it back together I cleaned it with brake cleaner then coated every piece with new motor oil. Then I put petroleum jelly in the pump gears to aid in instantaneous oil pick up.
I called around and couldn't find an oil-pump-to-block gasket that I could get without waiting two days. I finally called a friend that works at a parts house and he happened to have a driver at a distant store that had one so I was able to pick it up and an oil pan gasket, new filter and six more quarts of oil. I came back and it took the entire rest of the day to install everything. When I finally had everything reinstalled and hooked back up the sun was almost set. I turned the key and nothing happened. I looked at the neutral safety switch, since that had caused this exact problem in the past, but I found that it was in good working order. I'm still not exactly sure what the problem is but by this time it was dark. The most likely culprit is the starter wiring. At this point I'm not sure if I wired it incorrectly or if something else has happened. With the new exhaust it is very difficult to see and access the starter solenoid, so it is possible I made a mistake. It seems as though this car is bent on not being driven.
