Ok, so I did a bit more digging and in an effort to document what I've learned for others to find in the future. It turns out on my engine, 1996 50/35 Jet, you can install a standard block mount pump. There is a spot on the block just waiting for it. All you have to do is remove the bolt blocking the port. As you can see here:
Once I found this out I knew the VRO would be history, even if it was working properly. So, I started pulling everything off and I found the port that drives the VRO pump. Its behind the starter and has a small nipple threaded into the block:
It was a job but I managed to get the nipple out without taking off the lower cowl. Needle nose vise grips are handy. Once you get it off its just a hole in the block:
Since I had no plan of ever connecting the VRO again and I wasn't going to use that port I went to the hardware store and found a brass 1/8 pipe plug:
With a little PTFE thread sealant and a 7/16 wrench it was no more:
I robbed a good fuel pump off a donor 35 hp Johnson. It is an older motor and the pump number on the back was 322843. It looks like this pump part number became 438556, also Sierra 18-7352.
I bolted the donor pump on and a ran new fuel line for the pump. The input on this particular pump is 3/8 and the output is 5/16, which connected directly to the stock fuel manifold. I also had to flip the little fuel manifold upside down:
It was being fed from the top with the VRO and now I have a new 5/16 line feeding it from the bottom. I recommend using marine grade fuel line in the correct size and good connectors. I know marine fuel line is expensive but it is worth it in the long run.
I took the boat out this afternoon and it runs fine. It seems to start sooner than in the past.