I performed this upgrade a couple of years ago. Thought I would put a few miles on it to make sure it worked before sharing the results.
My truck had an electric fuel pump on it when I bought it - installed by the previous owner. After sitting the first winter, it stopped working. I was thinking about converting back to the original mechanical system, but I was concerned about everything I had read regarding these old fuel pump diaphragms failing. That, coupled with potential hot fuel handling issues associated with today's gas, I decided to stick with the electric option.
As mentioned previously in this thread, the straight wiring to the ignition switch method (i.e. the way mine was wired) is pretty much an invitation to disaster (OK.. well, maybe not one of those fancy formal invitations with an RSVP envelop, but at least an email or phone invite). Using some type of cutout switch to kill the fuel pump when the engine is not running is the only safe option. I chose an oil pressure based switch made by Holley, model 12-810. It is easy to wire, and also has a normally closed contact that is handy for priming. They are available from a number of performance shops.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZqh ... 2F2aEl4U28
The only drawback with oil pressure switches, is that they need a source of oil pressure. For me, this actually helped with another problem. The flex line at the back of the engine feeding the oil pressure gauge looked like it was about ready to spring a leak at any minute. That and the tubing coming from the front of the engine looked kinked near the clip that holds it in place near the flex line connection. Since it had to be replaced anyway, this seemed like a good junction point to mount a tee for the pressure cutout switch.
I modified a brake tee, and mounted it to a piece of angle, then bolted it to the top of the bell housing, under the starter linkage spacer.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZqh ... Th1Qml6Y1U
I made a new shorter spacer to compensate for the width of the bracket.
The oil line from the engine now comes in from the bottom, the flex line to the gauge goes out the top, and the cutout switch goes out the side. This is a much more robust method than the original design which had that small piece of tubing kinda hanging there in space.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZqh ... FlaSUdDOUk
Speaking of lines, one method I found that works well for making connections to either fuel or oil lines, is to silver braze an AN fitting on the end. Sometimes it's hard to find one for 5/16", so you can just take one made for 1/4" tubing, and bore it out to 5/16". This setup allows a lot of flexibility in selecting mating componentry as there are hundreds of different configurations available from the various hose and fitting vendors (Aeroquip, Earls, Russel, etc.)
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZqh ... 2czVHdfaFE
For the new electric fuel pump, I picked one made by Carter, model P4259. Surprisingly, the auto parts store near my house actually had one of these. The P.O. had welded a mounting plate onto the frame near the tank for an electric pump. I would have preferred bolting on an adapter, but since the bracket was already there, I figured that I might as well use it. It actually worked to my advantage, as I needed a place to mount the inlet fuel filter anyway. It ended up packaging nicely behind the bracket, held in place with a couple of plastic coated steel straps. The inlet filter I picked is designed for this application (pump inlets) is also made by Holley. It has a removable stainless steel element that can be cleaned, and at 100 microns, it is fine enough to catch debris that will hurt the pump, but not too fine as to cause an undue restriction.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZqh ... UlhSFRpLVU
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZqh ... VZwTlVHdTQ
The rest of the existing fuel system was pretty sad. It was essentially a smorgasbord of mismatched fittings, kinked tubing, spliced together hoses, etc. A good part of the line running up the frame to the filter by the engine was just lying there, bouncing around. It wasn't even clamped down.
I replaced all of it with stainless tubing - bending it to what I believe is the original route, using the witness marks on the frame. The only deviation was near the electric pump, where it turns up and out to make the connection to the pump. I could have used rubber hose and clamps, but I had some AN line and fittings left over from a previous project, so this seemed like a good place to use them up.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZqh ... 2MzdF9qUjg
Next came the engine mounted pump. Totally removing it would require even more fuel line changes, so I decided to keep it, relegating it to a pass through by making some internal mods. I found a cheap replacement on e-pay, gutted it and installed a stainless steel block-out plate. I also added a fake priming lever to the side to make it look like an original.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZqh ... Vd2SmpEWlE
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZqh ... lFsWW90RTQ
With the plumbing in place it was time to wire up the switch. I was already thinking about putting in a key type switch anyway, so I purchased a heavy duty marine switch with a crank position. Wired up as in the schematic below, this allows the system to be primed in “crank” via the normally closed contacts in the cut out switch.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZqh ... lFBcndOVlE
So far it has worked out well. The prime feature is actually pretty nice if the truck has been sitting for awhile. The oil pressure cutout gives peace of mind, ensuring that the fuel pump will not keep pumping if the engine stops.
Best Regards...