twas the 1999 ford taurus with the 3.0l vulcan 12 valve v6. after running out of gas for the second time in two months (all on a marginal to weak battery--i wasn't the one driving it around like that......) the vehicle in question would only run for about 5 minutes before cutting off. everyone was telling me that the fuel pump was probably done for, as it likely got hot when it was operating, eventually seizing up after a couple of minutes. this made sense to me, so i put the $7.99 harbor freight fuel pressure gauge (with ford and chevy test port adaptors, really good deal even if only lasts a couple of uses) up to the car with it stone cold. the key on pressure was about 15 psi. i didn't think it could possibly start with it like this, but it did. operating pressure was about 30 psi, which is about the bottom edge of allowable pressure while running. after about 7 minutes or so, the car struggled, and died, while slowly dropping pressure. we couldn't get the car to restart, but the key on stayed at around 15-20 psi. for amusement's sake, we put the gauge on a 98 ford ranger, which has the same motor except in a RWD configuration. i don't remember what the key on pressure was, but it was enough to make fuel seep from the hose to gauge connection. starting the engine produced a gauge pressure of 60 psi and gasoline leaking everywhere. i replaced the fuel filter on the taurus little over a year and under 12k miles ago to try and solve a driveability issue, but i did it again just for $%it and giggles. i was thinking that i was probably wasting time that i could be using to do the inevitable fuel tank drop and fuel pump replacement, but it would only take 10 minutes. long story short, the key on pressure was now 25 psi, and the running pressure was 10 psi higher at 40. all of this from changing a <year old fuel filter. that didn't fix the problem (aftermarket replacement coil pack connector likes to slip loose apparently). anyone explain why this would increase pressure so much? or is my gauge just really, really crappy? your thoughts, please.