Fuel filter or fuel pump issue - 2007 tacoma

You are supposed to keep fuel in the tank.
If something unexpected happens, you have fuel.
Or not needing to prolong driving to work in the morning to stop for gas.

The fuel pump relies on being submerged in fuel to keep cool.
This is why people who often run their vehicles to E have premature fuel pump failure. If the tank is empty, the pump is hot.

That being said, has little to do with the dumb engineering decision behind factory 2nd gen not coming with a separate replaceable filter that most other vehicles have and call for replacement every 40k mi or so, being up to only ~$40 for a new one and easy to access.

 

The below thread is insightful. My takeaway is that regardless of empty tank the fuel pump is surrounded by a mini tub of fuel which does not get used up when run to empty. So some leeway to protect pump.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fuel-cooling-the-fuel-pump-question.610295/

 

Isn't another reason for keeping fuel in the tank because particles in the fuel and tank will settle at the bottom so if you let it run down, you're using fuel that becomes dirtier and dirtier?