90 Lumina, fuel pump not working

This car sat for 3 years before I bought it, to the best of my information it ran when parked. It was parked because of a bad transmission. The fuel pump won't turn on when you turn the ignition on. I've checked the fuses, the fuel pump relay, the test lead to the fuel pump. No Luck.
There is no fuel pressure at the fuel rail, which prompted the search for other problems/causes. The only thing left I can think of is dropping the fuel tank to check that wiring and also to get rid of the bad gas. Replacing the fuel pump and filter while it was down and out. Any further information on what to try next would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. Does the fuel sending unit work in conjunction with the fuel pump. ie, if one is bad , could both be bad. The fuel gauge reads above full, so much so I believe it to be inaccurate. So I put about 1 1/2 gallons of fuel in it to try and get running.

Jumper out the fuel pump relay (puts 12v to the fuel pump) and pound the snot out of the bottom of the gas tank...You may be able to jarr that puppy into coming on..can't hurt

The fuel gauge reads above full, so much so I believe it to be inaccurate.
If there's no ground for the sending unit, I'm thinking the pump won't run and the gauge will read over-full.

Thanks guys, I'll try both of those.