Yes to both. I temped in a long peice of 3/8 hose from the pump, left it laying on the driveway, ran it in front of the grill, hung it from the top of the hood and dropped it down to the carb. Although it took longer and didnt quite drop to zero, the same basic problem was there.

The wiring thing I havent checked , but would'nt pressure at the rear guage drop if that were the case.