not a mopar but need some help

Oh boy does this sound familiar.
A. Its not the fuel pump.
B. it could be a vacuum leak, but............
C. it's most likely a timing issue. The hold downs on the distributor loosen, that allows it to move gradually and you get the problem you have.
Here's the butt kicker, as you have seen, everything in there is compact and a major P.I.A. to get to. I had one of these things cause me to chase my tail for a couple of weeks over the same issue.