94 ranger 4x4 4.0 intermittantly wont start

This is a really strange problem that I havent really dug into yet and I was hoping someone else has encountered this issue and can give me some insight. Sometimes it will start and sometimes it wont. When it doesn't start I can tell you the fuel pump kicks on when the key is turned on, but it doesn't kick off like its supposed to. It should cycle before start up. When this happens it wont start and you can smell gas very strongly. Any suggestions on what would keep the fuel pump from shutting off at the end of its cycle?