Chrysler Repair: Fuel pump replaced, now wont run: 98 Van, fuel level sensor, gas gauge

Question
I recently bought a fuel pump and had it put on and about a week later the van went crazy. My gages on the dash went crazy now it will not run. It is like it is flooding itself out. When you start it the smell of gas is awful and dies. When you press the gas pedal it putts, backfires and dies.Please help with any advice I have already spent over 500 and it is still not running.thank you  

Answer
Hi Edy,
I don't know of any reason why replacing the fuel pump if that is the only thing done would affect the guages on the dash and cause flooding, backfiring and dieing. There is a connection from the fuel level sensor in the module you replaced to the body computer, but if the correct module was used and it was plugged in to the plug properly that would not cause a problem with the data from the level that is sent to the instrument cluster. But if something was wrong with the part number or the way it was wired at the pump module I suppose that could at least cause a failure of the gas gauge to read properly.
As to the poor operation of the engine, the only thing I could see is the possibility of a defective pump that is not putting out sufficient pressure to operate the injectors and produce the correct mixture for ignition. The pressure at the fuel supply rail should be 49 pounds per square inch and the shop should be able to measure that. If the pressure is not up to that it would produce an unburnt fuel possibility. I would call the shop that did the installation and either have it towed to them or limp it in somehow for their evaluation.
Other than that, I would suggest that you try to get a readout of the fault codes that might be stored in the powertrain memory on the chance that something else has happened unrelated to the fuel pump. Let me know if you do that and get any code numbers. The shop should have a code reader and charge no more than $40 to do the readout, tell you the numbers, what they mean, and how much to do the repair. Tell me what they say and we'll compare notes before you authorize something new and expensive to be done.
I wish I could be more helpful, and it is frustrating to have a vehicle that won't run, but the only way I can see to go forward is to return to the shop that did the work and tell them that there appears to be something wrong with their work and you would like them to evaluate what is wrong given the failure after such a short time.
Roland