2004 Ford Escape Fuel Pump repeated failure

Look for a mouse nest on top of the fuel tank or along wires to fuel pump rodent may have eaten the wiring

I got back on this today. Just to check, I turned the key and the fuel pump still doesn't run for 2-3 seconds like it should. I checked the fuel pump relay and all surrounding wiring that I can get to and it is all very clean with no sign of corrosion. I swapped the relay with one next to it and that did not change anything, fuel pump still didn't run. Then I unplugged the fuel pump from it's connector and examined the wiring as far as I could. The wiring and connectors are all in very good shape and completely clean with no corrosion or damage whatsoever. Then I plugged the connector back onto the fuel pump pigtail and back probed the pink/black wire and black ground wire with my digital volt ohm meter. I turn the key and I get close to 13 volts for a couple seconds, then it goes away. This makes me believe that the relay, inertia switch, wiring/connectors, and PCM are all ok. Right? Next I used jumper cables and paperclips to connect 12 volts and ground from the terminals of the battery on a different vehicle to the fuel pump (2nd new one) pigtail and the fuel pump still did not run. I tried the same method on the 1st new fuel pump (that had been sitting in the bed of my other truck) and it didn't run still either. So I went below the pigtail and connected to the lower plug where the electric motor is connected. Fuel Pump Motor did not turn. It acted as if the little electric motor inside the fuel pump was locked up. It sparks when I touch the terminals with the paperclip probes. I am still at a loss. Something seems to be killing the fuel pump motors.

So I took apart the 1st new fuel pump I bought on CarParts.com to examine the actual pump motor. It has been sitting in the bed of my truck for a month in the weather. It looks somewhat corroded on the body of the electric motor, I assume from sitting in the weather for a month. I connected 12V to the contacts and it would spark but the motor would not turn. I banged it a couple times on the concrete driveway and tried again. This time I felt it move slightly. So I banged it some more on the concrete and it broke loose and started running just fine! So I guess I am going to drain the fuel tank and clean it out real good. Then I'll flush out the pump motor and try again. I don't see any crud, dirt, rust, debris or anything on the little cloth fuel pump inlet screens when I pull the fuel pump. It all looks clean when I pull it out of the tank. All I can figure is that there is enough tiny debris in the gas that if I keep it moving it goes through the system into the fuel filter. But after I let it all settle in the pump for a couple days it builds up enough to stop the motor from turning. (I am guessing here)

UPDATE: Late yesterday I siphoned out the gas and cleaned out the tank. It had a lot of trash in it from old parts sitting in bad gas for a few years until they rotted and fell apart. One of the new fuel pump assemblies I got from CarParts.com had 3 rubber feet on the bottom that were already melting and falling apart. That fuel pump was on the car for about 1 month sitting in bad gas. They were little black rubber pieces that were melting and gooey. The remains of the bottom screen on the fuel pump assembly were the main part of debris that clogged the original fuel pump. I installed the fuel pump assembly that I took apart and banged on the driveway and got working. (see above comment) I put the assembly back together successfully and it was not difficult. It started and runs fine now. I drove it to the car wash last night, and just checked on it and it still starts and runs fine. I will park it for 2 or 3 days again and see if my problem comes back. If the fuel pump dies again I will post again about it.