Michael in Tulsa

When I start my 1988 10th Anniversary TII, the engine turns over, the motor starts for a second, and then it immediately dies. I normally have to rev it a little to get it to run and idle properly, but today when I press the accelerator it does not rev at all and then dies. Here are the things I have checked:

1) The gas tank is not empty.

2) I have a fuel pump kill switch installed to fix the common hot starting problem with TII's. With the fuel pump switch turned off, the car will not start even for a second, as expected. With the fuel pump switch turned on, the car will fire for a second and then die. This leads me to believe that the fuel pump is functioning . At least I know that with it turned on some fuel is getting to the engine because it fires for a second, and with it off none is getting there.

3) I have checked the linkage between the accelerator pedal and the throttle. With the pedal depressed, the throttle arm is opening, so it doesn't appear to be a throttle cable problem.

4) I have checked the Fuel Pump fuse in the fuse box and it appears normal.

Yesterday when I last turned it off, the car was starting and running well, today it will not start at all.
Could the fuel filter cause this severe a problem? Would it go out all of the sudden. Could there be a problem with the fuel pump that would give the car enough fuel to fire, but not enough to run? What is the fuel pump strainer, and could it be the cause? Please let me know your ideas, and if there is something else I should be looking at!
Thank you, Michael in Tulsa