Pontiac Repair: fuel not getting past the fuel pump after running out of gas, fuel pump, fuel filter

Question
I ran up to my apartment the other night leaving my car running.  When i came back  down to my  car it had run out of gas while idle.  I could not get it start again after putting gas in the tank.  2 trips with the gas can and it still wont start.  after looking it over with a few friends, i dont hear the fuel pump come on with the turn of the key, we checked the fuse under the hood, is there a reset on the pump ?  the car wants to start but its not ghetting gas. we changed the fuel filter, but didnt work, could their be air in the line?  I guess i just want to know the cheapest routes to try and diagnose the system my self, i am very strapped for cash right now, can you help?


Answer
First of all, it would help if you told me the YEAR, MAKE, AND MODEL of the car.
Chances are that if you ran it out of gas, the fuel pump is burnt up. The pump uses gas as a coolant and a lubricant. If it runs out of gas, it gets too hot and burns up the pump motor.