Engine starting issues

[jfalesi]

Hey guys/gals. Just looking for some ideas... I've got a '71 Suburban with a new gas tank and we're trying to start it for the first time since installing the tank. Before the install, it was sitting for the better part of a year and wouldn't start. I diagnosed a leaky fuel tank and bad gas. I replaced the tank and all the rubber hoses. Today a friend came over to help me get it started. We verified that the distributor is on properly (I pulled it off to prime the oil pump), replaced all the plugs and wires, checked the plug order three times, verified that the dist and the crank were at #1 TDC, and primed the fuel line. We checked the spark with an in-line tester and verified spark. We disconnected the fuel hose at the carburetor and verified that we were getting gas from the pump. Then we cranked the engine a number of times, with a couple of different dist orientations, and only got backfiring (we had poured gas into the carb). We checked for gas from the fuel line to the carb again and this time saw nothing. So we're thinking it's the fuel pump. Any other ideas of what we should check?

FYI I've got a 350 crate engine and HEI. Yes, there's gas in the tank :-D

Thanks!