97 240, another fuel delivery problem

[foley]

I've read every thread I can find on here with "fuel pump relay" in the search box.

Driving the car to work this am, hit an offramp,coasted down to 50 or so, car fell on it's face... no power.

Tried turning the key off and on, then roll starting it, no dice.

Towed it back to the shop and started diagnosing.

1) No fuel at fuel rail.

2) No power at fuel pump connector on tank.

3) Jumpered fuel pump connector to battery, got fuel at the fuel rail.

4) Checked relay, it's got +12v on both Black / White wires. Black / Yellow wire shows ground when tested with a digital testlight.

5) Jumpered across relay (Black / White - Black / Yellow) and got fuel at the fuel rail.

6) Tested ECU output with digital test light, does not show ground, even while the engine is cranking.

7) Jumpered the ground side of the relay (ECM) with an analog test light, got fuel at the fuel rail.

That was where I gave up for the night.

From what I've read here, I need to verify that the mounting screws on the ECM are tight so that it can give a good ground to the Fuel Pump Relay.

My next step is to jumper the fuel pump relay and see if the car starts.

This should tell me if it's the Crank Sensor or the ECM. My gut says it's the ECM, not the crank sensor, since I don't get the 5 seconds of fuel when I turn the key on but do not crank the motor over.

So, assuming that jumpering the relay on the fuel pump lets the car start, what's to stop me from bypassing the ECM lead to the relay and just hooking it up so the fuel pump relay is on whenever the key is on? I realize there's a safety implication if the key is on and the car is not running, any other reason not to do this?

Any other possibilities I'm overlooking?

Thanks,

Mike