Fuel system shuts off while driving or will not start

You did a perfect job of describing what happened to my '88 Grand Caravan, twice. This was easier to figure out on my two cars this happened to with carburetors. The symptoms defy logic at first with fuel-injected engines.

To find this, connect a fuel pressure gauge to the test port, then clip the gauge under the right wiper arm so you can see it while you're driving. Fuel pressure varies with engine vacuum but should be around 45 - 50 psi. As you're driving, expect to see it slowly drop, and a clue I found is pressure will pop back up to normal when you lift the accelerator pedal for just an instant, then pressure will again drop slowly.

The second time this happened to my Caravan, I had been chasing it for a year and a half, so I had the pressure gauge clipped to the radio antenna all that time. This always got worse in the summer, (no idea why temperature affects it), and this time it acted up constantly while dragging a tandem axle enclosed trailer that's bigger and heavier than the van. By watching the gauge and lifting the accelerator pedal about every 20 seconds, I was able to nurse it home 55 miles. The engine still ran okay as low as 20 psi, and started to sputter at 15 psi. Many engines won't even run with fuel pressure just five pounds lower than normal.

The first time this happened the engine ran fine at highway speeds, but would stall every time I started to coast, as in when approaching a stop light. As I figured out later, this wasn't a fuel pressure problem; it was a fuel volume problem. Other than with diesel engines, I have never solved a running problem on a Chrysler product by replacing the fuel filter. They commonly last the life of the vehicle. However, all four of these problems, (two on the Caravan, 200,000 miles apart, and two on older carbureted cars), were caused by a plugged or collapsing screen inside the gas tank. When you can buy these separately, you'll usually find then listed as the "fuel strainer". They just snap onto the fuel pump housing. On newer models such as my mother's '95 Grand Caravan, they are a part of the housing and not available separately. I've never had to replace one of this style. This one shown in the second photo is for your truck and my '95 Caravan. The blue arrow is pointing to the strainer.