I should add that the gas level on the gauge does not stay up high until the gas goes down, it kind of hovers around the 3/4 mark basically and drops steadily. So I kinda suspect that when the gauge says empty it's not really. I'm not willing to run it out of gas though. I just keep putting in gas when needed, fortunately it's not a big deal.
My tank is rusty and appears original. Same for the pump.