i put an airtex pump on my old 99 silvy and had no problems til the day I sold it and that was 5 plus years. sometimes u get a bad pump it happens even to delco's

 

The truck is running great now. I ended up with a delco (dephi, whatever) pump in there, not wanting to take any chances.
Odd thing is, it is a bit grumpy when it first starts, with weird idling and such, but once it warms up it is great. Happens when I start it cold or warmed up. Not going to worry about it unless it causes problems.

Again, thank you blazerforum!