I was given the truck by my dad, but it had been sitting for about 8 mths. its usually stubborn to prime and start up but ive had no luck lately. i can get it to start by pouring bit of gas in carb but wont feed itself gas. any recommendations where to start?

ive changed over to electric fuel pump hoping to eliminate all of the priming issue etc. but still wont stay running on its own gas feed, could it be carb?

A few ideas:

When engine dies, is there spark? If not, ignition system has to be sorted out. Test coil, ballast resister, run circuit for broken wires and poor connections etc.

Is Lean Burn ignition system still hooked up? If so this opens a whole can of runability worms I'm not equipped to advise how to diagnose.

If above items check out, than fuel delivery is the problem

Easy stuff first:

Look for failed intake gaskets creating big vacuum leaks. Harder to do if engine won't run but a few seconds.

Check for plugged fuel filters, line by disconnecting fuel line at carburetor and pumping fuel into a can. If no fuel flows or very little, tank and or filter sock at end of pickup in tank may be caked with crud. Blow out fuel line back to tank to try to clear it.

Next would be to inspect, clean and rebuild carburetor.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

If it runs with gas down the carb, then yes it would stand to reason that you have a fuel delivery issue.

start with the simple, such as is the fuel filter plugged? then move onto the carb and comfirm if there is fuel in the float bowl.

Wait... a minute... what about the choke? is it working? confirm that the choke is closing fully... if the choke is not working, you will have difficulty getting the engine to fire up, and or run while cold... All of my rigs are manual choke, so I can not assist in troubling shooting on that...

But once you have ruled out fuel delivery, and choke operation, then it would stand to reason that there may be a carb issue, or a massive vacuum leak...

First order is usually to confirm fuel is getting to the carb. Take the line off and crank it a few times. If fuel comes out, your problem is in the carb. That should be a five minute check and really narrow things down.

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1970 Olds Ninety-Eight (great grandpa's old car)
1980 D150 225
1989 Civic - high-power SOHC project (advice: don't)
1989 Integra
... and a Prius, because none of those ^ run.