Why risk a fuel leak and possibly a fire. Replace the fuel pump, don’t go cheap , get the AC Delco pump.

 

The thing is, I don't have the luxury of a house garage or house driveway to work on my own car

I live in an apartment complex and working on cars in the parking lot isn't allowed

So basically I would have to use a shop to get it done, and given the way everything has gone up in price it'll probably be like $1000+. Was recently quoted like $920 for front struts alone, so I know a fuel pump replacement (...which is obviously more involved than basic struts) would be expensive for sure

Because it only has the rough start on the very first cold-start of the day (in the morning) I might just live with it for a while, I don't really notice any driveability issues throughout the day and it still gets good 27ish MPG - it's just that "very first" cold start of the day that is rough and it stumbles a little

Presumably it's stumbling because there is air in the fuel lines during that very first start, that's what I'm guessing now based on the testing I've done/knowing it seems to lose fuel pressure

 

Okie dokie.