Ford Repair: vapor lock?, electric fuel pump, ford econoline

Question
I just purchased a 1976 Ford Econoline.
I purchased it because I WON'T HAVE TO GET IT SMOGGED if they don't change the rules in Cali.
Here is my question........
I drove the van for a week with no problems,
I was waiting at a long stop light for about 9 minutes in  down town Riverside.
The van got a little hot but didn't over heat and by the way it is a 460.
Well, the van just died and would not start not even the engine would turn over not even a turn on the starter.
5 minutes later I finally got it to turn over but the van would not start and then gas started coming out of the carb onto the manifold, so I had the van towed to the guys house from whom I PURCHASED THE VAN , he said it probably vapor locked -
when I  went and got the van back he said I messed with the idle which is not true.
I looked under the chassis and this thing also has a add on electric fuel pump tied into the line from the mech pump.
He said that I should on run on 91 octane or it will happen again.
The fuel line isn't anywhere near the exhaust so I  don't see the fuel line getting too hot.
Does this seem like a vapor lock situation?
I sometimes get scared to drive the van because of what happened.
I did purchase a fuel regulator and installed it after the add on fuel pump and set it to 4.
My psi on the fuel was around 13, so i hope i brought it down to 8 -there isn't much room from the front to check.
He also said that Econolines in  (1976) that had dual tanks had vapor lock problems-(is this true)?Mine does have two 13 gallon tanks .
What do you think?
I have been driving the van since but am afraid that I will have a problem again in the summer time -if this is what did happen-
Let me know Dave.

Thanks for your time,
Chuck  

Answer
I have not seen a 1976 vehicle in for service in probably 15 years, vehicles don't last that long in the midwest, but I will try to offer some advice.  First, neither the idle speed, or the fuel's octane rating would cause a "crank - no start" problem.  It could have been vapor locked, because of the hot engine and too high of fuel pressure.  Carburetor's are sensitive to fuel pressure, and if the fuel pressure was too high, it could have also caused the engine to flood.  I would drive the vehicle with the new fuel pressure regulator, and see if this helps.  If it acts up again, I would consider taking the vehicle in for service.  The carburetor may need to be rebuilt.

I hope this helps,
Dave