You can do it . Best would be to stand it on end , output shaft down, pump upwards . To make sure nothing does come out of place , loosen front band lock nut , screw adjuster in till it's firm . That will prevent the clutch drums lifting up as the pump comes out .  Then bellhousing off , unbolt the 7 pump bolts . Just make sure that there's not a little screw also , some occasionally have a small phillips head screw as well as the 7 9/16 head bolts      Pump should lift up & out easy enough since it's not that old 

Thanks greg, I'll check online for some videos to get a visual understanding.   One question, how easy is to remove the front pump and can I do it without pulling out other bits inside the trans accidently?

Hey Odie, There is a fusible link for the fuel pump. They can be replaced with an auto-reset circuit breaker .

The pump gears. Inner gear, the bevel on the gear must face forward. The outer gear if original will have a dot must face out . If ar=aftermarket gears, then outer gear usually can go either way . the outer gear has a bevel on the inner teeth is the reference point    Also needto look at the crescent in the pump , see if inner gear is wearing on it   

the relays have contacts inside that can get tarnished etc.  even just unplugging them(the flexing etc) might be enough to help them back to life again.  at least you know a bit more about them in the process, that's basically how i learned everything i know.. fixing broken things

OK - fuel pump now running though not sure why.   I removed every relay and connector I could find between the battery and brake booster and gave their contacts a thorough clean even though they didn't look too bad.  I never found a fuel pump fuse but did find a small green module plugged into a yellow harness tucked below the relays beside the brake booster - It was marked as a 4.7ohm resistor. I pulled it and cleaned it's connections as well.   Thanks for the comments - they helped me confirm there's no obvious fuse in the engine bay.

only thing i knew about were the 2 relays  under the bonnet near brake booster (green one and grey one.. fuel pump relay and ecu relay) no idea about a fuse, i haven't played with efi x series enough (deliberately chose carby versions for 15yrs ) 

Not going to enjoy that, was easier bolting to the engine while it was out. I was hoping I won't need to remove the pump, have no idea what to look for or know if the pump gear is backwards.        

That's not good . Should slip back easy 3-5 mm . Starter won't have any effect.   At this stage likely the best next step is remove trans , do some measuring of converter etc . Then pump out to inspect . I'm wondering if inner pump gear is fitted backwards could cause all these issues    If old mate that built it left that valve out at the filter who knows what else he has f___ked up 

Righto, may have an issue, I removed all the convertor nuts and could not move the cnvertor back or forth. Even gave the convertor a bit of a tap with a flat punch and hammer, no movement at all. So I'm wondering if the covertor is not in properly causing it to be tight against the flexplate.   I do remember the convertor bolt holes on the flexplate not being perfectly aligned by only a smidgen, wasn't easy getting the transmission in. I thought abouty making the holes bigger but was concerned about affecting the flex plate balance. So there is a chance while I was battling to get the transmission on, either the convertor move forward a bit or the convertor is not sitting flat on the flex plate.   Have to say while turning the engine manually didn't feel any unusual resistance either.       Don't think the staerter motor is an issue.