Well, I think (hope) I have this diagnosed... I think the gauge was
showing a bit more fuel than was actually in the tank.  The gauge is
probably in the bottom half of the red zone, but definitely still in
it.

I removed the main fuel line from the tank and NO fuel drained out.  A
few drops came from the detached line, but nothing from the tank.

Since the attachment point of the line does not appear to be the low
point of the tank, I assume there is a pickup tube inside the tank
that runs to the low point.  However, there's definitely not much fuel
left in there, or so it would appear.

I'm thinking that I just sucked up some air due to a very low fuel
level, which caused the hesitation/stumbling.

I have all the vent lines disconnected; I admit I was a bit surprised
that the filler pipe is just a friction fit in the seal on the tank.

I'll be dropping the tank tomorrow if things go as planned, and then
see what I can do about repairing the crossover vent tube.  I'll also
have a good look inside the tank and if it looks too crusty I'll
probably just install a new one.

Any good maintenance jobs I can do that I have good access to with the
tank out?

Allan
--
1991 Vanagon GL