Jim, thanks for the suggestions.

At 06:58 AM 10/19/2009, Jim Felder wrote:
>... you might have a clogged fuel filter or tank outlet, where the
>car acts like it runs out of gas ...

I thought of that, but this time it was really out of gas: I pumped
16.1 gallons into the 16-gallon tank.

I did have a partially clogged fuel filter last summer, driving
across the country.  Yep, it felt like running out of gas, but only
when I opened the throttle.  At low power it ran fine.

>... adding gas helps wash off whatever flakes of rust and crud are
>covering your outlet.

Yep, had that problem once, too, in my '67 Beetle years ago.  The
screen had rusted.  As long as there was plenty of gas sloshing
around, it could draw fuel.  But when the tank got low, the rust
would collect over the outlet.  A new screen fixed that.