ommony--

The sudden dying does sound like a fuel loss. So I think you are on the right track. The pump is a version of the
Bosch VE series (as built by Diesel Kiki). I have worked on a number of these at the fuel shop where I work part time although your particular pump I have never seen. But the fuel inlet is at the banjo fitting near the front of the pump as seen in photo number one. And, sometimes these do have a guaze strainer built into the banjo bolt or around it.

Also, some vehicles have a guaze filter in the tank and this is an insidious place to have a fuel blockage.

If these places look OK I would put a low range vacuum guage in the fuel line at the inlet of the pump and look for less than, say, 50 mm ( about 2 inches)of mercury negative pressure when the engine is running. Much more than this and I believe the VE pump would have problems lifting the fuel into it's body.

Another possibility is an air leak in your fuel line which in some cases can let air in without any fuel leaking out. This can starve the pump to the point of killing the engine.
You can test for this by temporarily installing a clear plastic line at the inlet of the pump which will allow you to see air bubbles when the engine is running. Should be none or next to none.

Also, this pump has an electrical solenoid which must be working to enable the fuel flow in the pump. This is usually located on the top of the distributer head at the rear of the pump, although I see a solenoid on the top cover in photo number one that looks like it. But this could be something else. So look on the distributer head for a similar solenoid.. With the engine off, you can disconnect the wire to it and then touch it to the terminal (with the key on ) and you should see a small spark and hear a click. If you do, this should be OK, although it could be intermittent.

Hope this helps-- Paul