Hi:
Lets start with the simple stuff... for the lead hammer I would highly reccomend this guy on ebay... I have a 3 and 5 pound hammer from him. He is honest and the hammers are great and not expensive... I have two of these in 3 pound weight, one in the car boot and one in the shop.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=31483
The brand of pliers that I have are MILBAR and are the best made. Snap-On and MAC resell this brand under their names at a premium. You can find these on ebay also but they are not cheap.
I have 2 of these now, one in the car and one in the shop.
I would suggest the 9" size.
The first thing I would do is change your fuel filter on your ERA which is usually located near the tank on the drivers side. You will have to remove the rear wheel if you are on jackstands.
I am running without an electric fuel pump with my 428 with a double pumper 780 and have no problems. This sounds like a starvation problem OR a heat problem causing perhaps some vapor lock and cavitation?
Get yourself an inspection mirror and take a look at the back of the intake manifold near the fire wall. This is often a common area for leaks on the FE.
Run the car and put it on jack stands and then watch what goes on underneat. While watching, you can clean and buff stuff.
These are great cars eh?
Enjoy... you have minor issues in the big picture perspective.