Chevrolet Repair: 98 K3500 7.4- hard start when warm., chevron fuel, k n air filter

Question
A friend of mine has a 98 K3500 w/7.4L. It fires right up when it's cold, but after driving it for 20-30min it warms up and if you try to restart it, you have to crank the engine over for almost 10 seconds. IT will restart and runs well after it does, just has to crank a while before it does.

I have found a couple of suspicious items. The first being that the K&N air filter is not sealed completely, and the butterfly was extremely dirty. You can smell gas for a while after shutting the truck off (if it's warm), and the fuel pump is extremely loud.

I have advised the owner of possible leaking injectors and to use Chevron Fuel System cleaner in the next tank. I also advised that the owner replace the air cleaner system. I advised that the fuel pump could go out at any moment, and the owner is starting to battle me as to all these things adding up to the hard starting of the truck... Am I correct in telling her that all these things could add up to this problem?  

Answer
Hey,

 You need to check fuel pressure.  It has to be 55psi minimum to start.  It sounds like you have a weak pump.  To isolate the problem try to prime the pump by turning the key on and off several times without cranking and see if that helps.  Giving a tank a boot with your heel will work too.

w