My buddy that has my old '95 has been having some issues. He would start the truck and within a few seconds it would slowly bog down and die. For some reason he started it and held the key for a few seconds longer in the start position and it stayed running. He turned it off a few minutes later and tried to start it back up the normal way and it dies.

So I assuming it's something to do with the fuel pump. I know these trucks get power to the fuel pump through vacuum so I guess that's where the problem is. Any idea what's going on here guys?

clogged fuel filter or injectors?

Could be that or about a thousand other things!

Air leak in intake
MAF's fuel pump switch not working properly
MAF not installed or plugged in to harness
fuel pump bad
fuel filter clogged (or installed backwards, as reported not too long ago)
bad fuel
injectors clogged really bad/screen in injectors packed with crap
bad regulator
vacuum issues related to regulator and/or other fuel items
fuel pump relay(s) bad or not getting power

I could go on and on, best bet at this point is to retrieve error codes from ecu, if none, try jumping the fuel pump at the diagnostic port under the hood and see if she runs before going any further. Once its runs with check connector shorted properly, see if codes come up again.

If it runs and still no codes, time to do some electrical troubleshooting, as it is not a mechanical failure but an electrical problem somewhere.