Is there a push rod that goes to fuel pump arm? If so how best to keep it out of the way?

Remove the plate and check for a "piston" or rod that needs to be there to run the pump off the camshaft. You will see a hole in the casting where it will slide. It will be angled up into the engine. If you have that then you have to find out which fuel pump to use, GM had two. One with a long push arm and one with a short push arm.
Your best bet might be to find a donor engine in a scrap yard for the cam follower and take your cue from it's fuel pump.

Did you pump up the lifters with oil? They are what oils the valves. As the motor runs they act as pumps and hydrolic shock absorbers at the same time. They pump oil up through the push rods. So when you try to adjust them they collapse and don't fill back up.

A drill press and push rod is the best way, tighten the pushrod into the chuck. Leave it off. then place the lifter in a small bowl of oil and press it down with the lever on drill. do it over and over until it gets hard to pump.

The fuel pump is on the lower front passenger side of the engine. Place a small container under the pump and remove the fuel lines. They ae on there with hose clamps. Then remove the 2 bolts on the upper part of the fuel pump housing (7/16, I believe) and the pump will slide out of the motor. You may find a rod sliding out behind it. Don't lose it. Clean the old gasket off the block with a scraper or razor blade.
The bolts should hold the new gasket on the back of the new fuel pump. Put the rod back in, if it fell out, and hold it in place with a bent screwdriver until you get the plunger arm of the fuel pump against it. Slowly bring the fuel pump back up into position, keeping pressure on the rod and start the bolts. Keep the pump tight at all times or it can slide off the rod and you'll have to start over. Once the pump is tightened up on the block, re-install the gas lines and clamp them.
Start the engine. You should only have to start it 2 or 3 times before it picks up fuel and keeps running. If not then you'll have to take it back off and re-position the pump on the plunger rod.
Before you re-assemble, make sure the plunger on the new fuel pump is the same length as the old one. GM used 2 different length plingers on the fuel pump and they can't be interchanged. Hope this helps.

push rods dont knock?? they are hollow rods that the lifters push up and pump oil thru to rocker arm that then pushes down on a valve and opens it if u bent the push rods or any other part of the head valve train most auto parts stores or on line parts sell them including dealer

Disconnect the fuel (have a round object the size of the inside diameter of the line so you can plug it off) and unbolt the pump from the block. Notice how the arm slides out. When you reinstall the new pump make sure the pump arm goes under the cam shaft or it will not work. Clean the old gasget off of the block before reinstalling the new one. reconnect the fuel. The engine may have to turn over several times before fuel pressure is suffecient to start the engine.

it may not have been pluged in or the arm that goes from the contrl arm to the sensor not snap in to place . the rod snaps in to a ball and socket . if you look under the rear of the car you should see it it bolts to the fram and has a arm that goes to the lower control arm .

The push rod that runs the fuel pump has slid down, you can put some heavy grease on it and push it back up so it will stay. You also have a bolt hole in front of the engine block that has a short bolt in it, take it out and place a longer bolt that will tighten up on the push rod when you hold it up,not to tight. then slide fuel pump in and take long bolt out and replace with the original short bolt.

Check the metal vent tube on the fuel pump. When the diaphram goes out, oil will leak from the vent tube. If that is the problem, get it fixed pronto. Not always but there are some times when fuel gets mixed into the oil when the pump is going out and that thins the oil out. Keep on driving with this problem and you can kiss your engine good bye.

When/if you change the fuel pump out, make sure not to lose the push rod that is behind it. It goes between the camshaft and fuel pump.

1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
   
2. Disconnect fuel tank hose at the fuel pump, and plug the hose with a bolt or wooden dowel to keep any fuel from flowing out wires. Check the hose and if it is frayed or cracked, replace it with new fuel line hose.
   
3. Disconnect the outlet line to the carburetor. Use a wrench on the fuel pump fitting and another on the line nut.
   
4. Remove the two attaching bolts and remove the old fuel pump. Clean off any old gasket material from the mounting surface of the engine.
   

Installation:

1. Apply a coat of gasket sealer on both sides of the new gasket. Put the attaching bolts through the new pump and slip the gasket over the bolts.
   
2. Install the new pump on the engine. Make sure that the rocker arm in the pump is against the eccentric inside the engine, or that the push rod is correctly installed in both the engine and the fuel pump. If the push rod slides out, you can pack it with some heavy grease to hold it in place while you install the pump.
   
3. Attach the fuel outlet line that runs to the carburetor. If it's difficult to connect, remove the other end of the line from the carburetor. Connect the line to the fuel pump, and then reattach the other end to the carburetor. Use a wrench to hold the fuel pump fitting and tighten the line nut with another wrench.
   
4. Attach the fuel inlet hose from the gas tank, and the vapor return hose (if the vehicle is equipped with one). Tighten all clamps.
   
5. Reconnect the battery ground cable, start the vehicle and check for leaks.
   

Hope that works

I just ran into this problem as I was rebuilding my 1.3 engine. When you put the mechanical pump back on, you have to be sure the rod that pushes against the pump is all the way in, check this with your finger, you should only feel about 1/4 inch of the rod, if you should feel more, turn the crank with a wrench until it goes in all the way. Then put your pump on making sure that you start both mounting bolts before you begin to tighten, as you tighten gently pull back on the top of the pump, so the lever will line up with the pumps push rod in the head. Your pump will work fine after that.