Hom complicated of a job is it to change out the lift pump?

And, I was unaware that crank shaft position was crucial to the operation of the manual lift pump. When I pumped the lever, what little resistance there was was consistent throughout the travel of the lever. The crank may just have been in the wrong position.

Another ignorant question. If I change the primary (Racor) filter, how do I prime that lower part of the system? Will gravity feed from the tank force most of the air through the system so that it bleeds at the secondary filter with help from the lift pump?

Thanks for all of the help.