I ran out of gas - literally down to fumes

I ran out of gas - literally down to fumes. Was across the street from a station, managed to use their can to get less than a gallon in, then it started and we pulled it in to the station. Tried to fill it at the pump, but the gasoline filling at that normal rate spewed back out of the fill opening. This has never happened before. We wondered if there was some sort of blockage, and were able to pass a stiff but flexible plastic tube (about 1/4" dia) through, all the way in to the tank. We got a bit of gas back and decided to try filling through this tube with a funnel. We got 3 gallons in, but decided not to push it, when the tube was removed we could still get a bit of gas to spill out, just a gentle squeeze on the gas tube leading to the tank, so we figured it was still somehow blocked.

is there some reason that the tank would not allow gas in, after running it dry? Drove home and pulled both tubes and they were clear, knowing this we went ahead and filled the tank. Is it possible some one stuffed a sock in there and we pushed it all the way into the tank? Any other ideas?