I would use the pump if it is working. The pump is driven by the crank and if it doesn't have fuel flowing through it, things are going to wear out quickly and break. You don't want the drive disk falling into the crank. It would likely blow the whole bottom end out of the crank case. The fuel is the lube for the pump.

You can pull the pump apart and take the shaft out which will eliminate the drive from the crank, but you will have a hole that needs plugging. You can't use a stock back plate because the crank has the extension to drive the pump and it will interfere with a back plate other than the pump.

Hummm, you just gave me an idea. You could build a diaphragm pump and use the shaft hole as the crank pressure feed. I've got to look at this a bit. That may be easier than replacing the seals on my pump..

Bottom line though, use the pump if it isn't giving you problems.

Don