Was the resistor warm to the touch? What color wires are connected to the resistor?

There are only three reasons I can think of for the resistor to smoke.

1. It's a bad resistor.

2. It was wired wrong.

3. There is too much voltage going to it.

You might want to check the voltage at the battery when you have the car running.

One step foward and two steps back, it takes patience.

You said you were sure you were getting gas to the carbs, but now your not sure.

Start from ground zero. Get the fuel situation solved for sure. You should have a steady stream of fuel coming out the line with the engine turning over. Not sure if you can install a pump wrong, but you should have felt pressure forcing the pump lever against the cam when installing. A car that sits for a long time is prime target for rust in the tank.

Definetly check all your vacuum lines for leaks, the car will never want to start with any kind of vacuum leak.

Was the resistor warm to the touch? What color wires are connected to the resistor?

There are only three reasons I can think of for the resistor to smoke.

1. It's a bad resistor.

2. It was wired wrong.

3. There is too much voltage going to it.

You might want to check the voltage at the battery when you have the car running.

Yes the resistor was warm to the touch. The wires were black with some sort of light stripe on the side. It was hard to tell though, they're old and dirty.

1. the resistor was new

2. This is possible, although it seemed pretty obvious which wire went where.

3. This is also possible.

Noob question: What kind of tool do you buy to check voltage in automobiles?

One step foward and two steps back, it takes patience.

You said you were sure you were getting gas to the carbs, but now your not sure.

Start from ground zero. Get the fuel situation solved for sure. You should have a steady stream of fuel coming out the line with the engine turning over. Not sure if you can install a pump wrong, but you should have felt pressure forcing the pump lever against the cam when installing. A car that sits for a long time is prime target for rust in the tank.

Definetly check all your vacuum lines for leaks, the car will never want to start with any kind of vacuum leak.

Right.

I don't remember if there was pressure when I installed it. With the fuel lines attached, I pumped the fuel pump and the fuel flowed out as it should. Also, at first there was bad gas coming out, so i continued to pump it until the gas was clear. I've had the gas tank boiled out and sealed so I don't think rust coming through the lines wouldn't be a problem.

I'm not quite sure how the fuel pump works but I'm assuming there's a lobe on the camshaft that spins around and pumps the little arm on the fuel pump. So I don't think that there would be a problem there.