Honda Repair: 1988 Honda Accord LXI Stalling/Quit Running, honda accord lxi, fuel pumps

Question
I just bought a 1988 Honda Accord LXI and while I was driving it stalled out. I tried several times to restart the engine, it would turn over but wouldn't fire up. I wasn't familiar with the car & thought it might have run out of gas so I put gas in it. The car started but died again about 5 minutes later & won't stay running by itself. There is a switch installed in the car to manually turn on/off the fuel pump. The car will flood if you turn off the ignition & forget to turn off the fuel pump. I'm a female & I'd rather not be duped by a mechanic if I can help it. Any information you can give me to help me out in this situation would be great, I don't want to approach a mechanic & sound like I know nothing about cars.

Answer
Mindy, "There is a switch installed in the car to manually turn on/off the fuel pump." - ummm... scary? On a daily driven vehicle you would have no need to have a toggle switch to turn on/off your fuel pump. That right there tells me they have installed some sort of anti-theft device or have been having problems with the fuel pump possibly?

I would say to start here with your problem. Is the switch 100% effectively working? As far as you know? Brand new fuel pumps are notorious for going out within a year to 2. Usually right when the warranties expire. I would definitely look into getting that toggle switch removed and returning the vehicle back to stock condition. If you are having problems with the vehicle getting negative attention - get an alarm.

I hope this information helps you. If you have anymore questions in the future or need other areas to diagnose let me know in a follow-up question.