Phenolic is not wood. Wood is not phenolic.
An electric fuel pump is a band-aid on the problem of vapour lock, not a solution to the problem of percolation—the two are not the same—and electric fuel pumps are
a hassle to do right (safely) on carbureted vehicles.
Percolation cannot be solved by installing an electric fuel pump, because the hard starting is caused by a flooded engine, which results from fuel boiling in the carburetor and collecting in the intake manifold. It does not matter what kind of fuel pump is on the engine; the fuel that causes the flooding is
already in the carburetor.