1999 5.7 mercruiser (Fuel injected) backfiring issue

[RumGuy]

I am having a similar problem with my 2004 Volvo Penta. I have narrowed it down to what Volvo calls the fuel cell: It is a lift pump, high pressure pump filter and heat exchanger all in one convenient (translation expensive) unit. I am tearing mine down soon, as I have read that the inside of the unit was painted, and the ethanol peels the paint. When enough paint blocks the internal screens, the pump starves. As it sits now, I can idle in gear all day long, but if I try to get up on a plane, it lasts a few hundred feet before backfiring, sputtering and dying out.