Well I did like ya said Hydrashock and checked the relays, they were all in good working order. I had already bought a positive battery cable, so I replaced it. While I was down there by the starter I noticed the freeze plug right above it was leaking. Since I had just had a local shop I trust replace that for me I was a bit pissed, so I cranked the key and bam, started right up...
I drove it over to them and they said they'd make it right free of charge (which they damn well were gonna have to do anyways ), and that they would call me when it was done. Today I get a call from the shop and they tell me that they had the same problem I had been having before I replaced the battery cable. After they looked it over it turns out that the fuel pump is going out and to get it started they had to crawl under the Durango and whack the gas tank with a rubber mallet...
And that does seem to be the problem because I told them I couldn't pay to fix it right now (just lost my job), and when I went to pick it up it wouldn't start until we whacked the fuel tank.
Now my question is this: They quoted me $250 for a fuel pump and $250 in labor. Does that seem reasonable or overpriced? My understanding is that with the fuel pump in the tank, it can be a pain in the *** to do "shade tree style". Would it be something someone can do at home in their driveway or just wait a bit and pay someone with a lift and warranty to do it???

Later...

Brekar...

 

considering that you can get a BOSH fuel pump for $200 from rockauto.com that seems reasonable to me, and they are only quoting at most 3 hours of labor to replace, sounds pretty fair to me bc i bet it would take you a whole lot more than 3 hours

 

get the part from rockauto and do it yourself its not hard to do make sure the gas tank is almost empty

 

Check out amazon too.. i have seen them on there from time to time for around $150.. Does not hurt to shop around a bit..

 

It is actually very easy to drop the tank because it is polyurethane and not metal.

You simply disconnect the fuel filler hose, drop it down slightly and disconnect the purge, electric connections, and gas line. Finish dropping it out. Slip it out and twist off the lock ring after cleaning off the cap. Remove the fuel by siphonage, and rinse it out with the last bit of fuel to get any crap out of it. Then install. I had mine out in like 45 min and installed in about 15 min.

 

Im planning on switching mine out before the summers out... thanks for the tip!