Electrical or fuel issues?

[Damon Toth]

My 1989 STX 4x4 ranger with a 2.9 v6 ran fine, then it sat for 3 weeks or so, went to start it and the battery was almost dead. I started it and it ran for 20 seconds and died, tried to restart and nothing. also, my gas gage was not working so I replaced the sending uint/ Fuel pump and fuel pump relay. It will start and run 15-20 seconds and then die after sitting a while; once it starts it will not start again for ah hour or so. I tested the inertia switch it was fine. When I turn the key the fuel pump runs for a few seconds and then stops.
I assume the spark is fine becuase it starts on the initial try and I am guessing it's a fuel issue, I don't know?
When replacing the relay I found a braided ground strap with clip attachement but I dont know where it came from- could it be from the power distribution block and could it be the cause of my problems?
Any help woould be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[adsm08]

The braided straps only ever go from the block to the body, frame, or exhaust. Hook it to one of those. Doubt it's your problem though.

Start it, after it stalls push the valve on the fuel rail test port (looks like a tire valve on the fuel rail) and see if fuel comes shooting out. Your high-pressure pump may be at fault.

Also, does it still stall if you hold the throttle open?