2000 Ford Ranger Won't Start "Help Only Transportation"

Hello, I was driving my fathers 2000 Ford Ranger the other day, and had to quickly stop at a stop light. When I went to pull away from the stop light the truck struggled like it was running out of fuel. It then died I restarted and it still acted like it was starving for fuel. So I got the trailer and brought it home. I checked and it is firing, the fuel pump is kicking on, but the fuel system is not pressurizing. I figured it was the pump. So, i shot some ether in it and it still won't start. I called a mechanic and he said change the oil sending unit on the back of the block. I reset the computer by pulling the negative wire off the battery. I tried what the mechanic said and no luck. Please if anyone else has and idea why it wont even start with ether. I dont wanna spend the money on a fuel pump if i dont need it. Thanks and sorry for so long of post just need to get this truck going its my only transportation.

has the fuel filter been replaced lately. also there is a fuel cut off switch somewhere on the vehicle. in case you get in an accident the fuel wont keep pumping out. its possible you stopped hard enough to trigger this switch, Its a simple matter of pressing a reset button. you'll have to look in your owners manual to find where the the reset button is because I dont know. Hope one of these ideas help.

The reset button is located on the passenger side floor right under the glove compartment. By the way what was the CEL code you got? Resetting it by temporarily disconnecting the battery is not the proper way to clear the code. If the problem persists the code will come back until corrected.

Okay i found the reset button, but it won't push in. And the only code is gave was oxygen sensor behind the cat. How do you clear the computer if it doesnt work to just pull the negative cable. I still dont understand why if it has fire, why it wont even run with ether (starting fluid). Thanks for the help though.

You'll have to make sure that the reset button works otherwise your fuel pump will not work. If your CEL indicates your downstream O2 sensor is bad, that will affect the operation of the PCM and could give you trouble. It does you no good or it could be detrimental to erase the CEL by momentraily disconnecting the battery because as long as the problem persists the CEL will come back on. At this point I suggest to replace the bad O2 sensor and then to ensure the reset button is not tripped. You'll know if it is closed by turning your ignition switch on and listen for the hum of the fuel pump.