You can get the Delphi online for about $200, you just have to check around. I wouldn't even consider the Airtex.

I'd fix the ground issue before I did anything else and see if you still get the light show.

You say your plugs are less than a year old, but have you looked at them? They can tell you a lot on how the engine's running.

And yes, fuel pumps can get weak and fail when they're hot. Also, they can not put out enough pressure for a cold start. The fuel pressure is completely dependent upon the pump. If the pump is not operating properly, it won't put out the fuel pressure the engine requires.

 

I was able to determine that it's not anything fuel related. It's electrical. Why do I say this? Because this evening I went to town, and it was running like crap going up a large hill, when I turned off my radio to listen to the motor, it picked up power. Then out of curiosity, I cut the lights, and more power came. Killed my heater, put the low beams on... With each accessory I turned off, the better it got. I couldn't get it to get passed 2000 rpm without it going to crap on me... Driving it in the day, I never really noticed these issues. But with the use of some power sucking features, I ruled the fuel out. I can floor it, and it won't go past 2000 or 3000 RPM. When I ease off the pedal about halfway thru, it acts better, but still can't get past that range of RPM.
My truck drives a daily terrain of a beat up 7 mile driveway to the paved road. I have to cross rivers, and creeks to get there. Never more than 18 in. at the most of water. Anyhow, I'm wonder if splash from my crossings has shorted something out? If the ecu was going, would I not be getting codes? I know it's shooting codes properly b/c I noted a few flashes when replacing vacuum lines, and checking things. Alternator's keeping a good charge though. Battery's a year old. Voltage regulator failing?

 

Do you have a volt meter in the dash? If so, what does it read while all of this calamity is going on? If not, you may want to get a multimeter attached to watch the voltage to see if it drops. It definitely sounds like you have a charging system issue.

 

I thought about that this morning...

I tested the alternator today with every accessory on, then off... 14 volts is what she read. I do believe I found the problem though. BTW My starter is fine. Here is what I think the problem is:

I was trying to figure out why the alt. was doing all the work (last nights symptoms told me that) so I pulled the battery caps off and found that one side was damn near 3/4 less acid, so I filled it with H20. The other side was almost full, but I topped it off nonetheless. I put a quick charge to the battery for 45 minutes, and it crunk right up. Drove it to town, not a single problem. Got to town, cut her off, started it. Came back home. So I guess the battery didn't have enough cranking amps to start the engine, but enough voltage to turn it. Which makes sense going back to the rest of my previous issues. The battery just wasn't doing it's job properly. So it's no wonder my fuel pump pressure was lacking on start, and the thing was dying on hills, etc. (every thing depending on juice was struggling) Now the problem has been narrowed down to a shyt battery (only 1 yr. old!) Or there's a faulty cable from battery to alt. I will test the wire tomorrow. Anyhow, if the volts read 14 while every thing is turned on, is there still a possibility that my voltage regulator is failing?

I used to have after market 1000W stereo, but got rid of that several months ago. Thinking I brought the battery down quite a bit before I sold it and never charged it back fully. So my alternator has been working overtime for a while now. Anyhow, glad to know it's not fuel, or anything complicated. I will update when I get the final tweaks done to square it away.

So you are right on the money!

 

OK... More symptoms to the problem. It's definitely electrical. I have a digi dash in my truck. When the problem occurs, my digital speedo reads 188. The only time it does that normally is when you first turn the ignition on, before it's started. (ecu booting up?) Anyhow, I noticed it happening today. It does it while idling sometimes, or driving. Anyhow, it's not shooting any codes. I will jump the pins and see if I get any codes like that. Will come back when I have something. Could a failing speed sensor cause my truck to run like crap at times, and not kick down when flooring it? This has become an intermittent problem.

 

Here's a video I made of my truck trying to show ya'll some of the issue. Please excuse the poor video quality if there is any!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpLGHUXo5_8

Quick Note: I thought pressure was supposed to be retained in the fuel line, before/after the filter, right? Well, after I took the nuts off the filter, no pressure was present. I figured I'd get sprayed or something. It only poured out after I removed the in/out lines. No pressure at all.