Hello All. New here from NC.
I have a problem with my 2003 f250 5.4 regular cab. I bought it in 2006 to pull a camper. I no longer have a camper so now I just use the truck to do errands and such. It only has 74000 miles. It's never had a wrench on it except for a serpentine belt and regular oil change and upkeep. Still has original plugs. Has never needed anything else but a few batteries. Never any problems and runs great. But the other day I took it out to run some errands. I stopped at a couple places without problems. Then my last was to Walmart. I had driven around 5 miles or so. I was in the store maybe 15 minutes or so. It would not start. It has never failed to start in all the years I've had it. When I turned the key it seemed to want to start but as soon as I let go of the key it just stopped. I tried for 15 minutes or so but the same. For some reason I thought maybe it wasn't getting gas. But, it was showing over 1/2 tank. Never been wrong before. I put a can of gas in and it started right up. So I stopped at the station to fill it up. It would only hold 9 gallons. It's a 29 gallon tank. It has not failed to start and has run perfect since. I've thought about it over and over and can't make sense of it. I'm sort of a Bubby auto mechanic and have a good little about autos but this has me stumped. Any Ideas??

 

If you spend time on these forums, most of the crank and no start conditions will be solved with a new fuel pump. However it's best to check the easier things first (Fuel Pump relay and wiring). Most likely, fuel pump though. There's a lot of threads on here that go over the procedures for checking the relay first however. If it happens again, see if you can hear the pump running while it's being cranked or in the ON position.

Fuel pressure is easily checked via the Schrader valve on the fuel rail on the top of the engine.

 

The truck is running great now. Plenty of power and no hesitation. I've started and drove several times since. Even though it did start after I put in a can of gas I'm not totally convinced it had anything to do with the fuel pump or related with gas.
At this point I would rather it not have started. It would have made it easier to figuer what the problem is. Now it could still be just about anything.