It's easy to get confused with positive ground. Any place they ground out and it's game over, no juice.
Turn ignition on (may have to have someone hold) and check at selenoid and see if it's got 6V on the small wire side, if yes, then it's the selenoid. If no, it's the wiring.

Double check your wiring.
I'm pretty sure the 23 series wiring diagrams are on this site. I printed them off before. In order for the column rigged starter to work without the ignition switch he had to bring a hot lead from somewhere or taken the one for the ignition and probably bypassed the carb switch and went straight to the selenoid since the ignition switch didn't function as intended.
My factory switch was missing, so I bought a 3 position universal(NAPA) and wired it and it worked fine, except my carb starter didn't work so I had to bypass/jumper it.

All pumps have a NPSH - net positive suction head -requirement as well as delivery specifications. It may not be listed on small auto parts but should come with a proper install diagram.
Centrifugals don't "pull" until the pump is flooded/liquid full/primed. So improper location could actually make things worse. Liquids seek the same level, so long as you're below the minimum fuel level it's should work. May require priming the line due to routing.
PD - positive displacement types - like mechanical diaphragms or rotary gear types - can pull into negative head/vacuum and are, therefore, prone to vapor lock in low flashpoint liquids or w/ higher temperatures.
The early tanks, lines, and pumps are or become somewhat undersized with corrosion, wear, etc. and the check valves aren't the best so they can "skip" with surging, etc. The tank outlet fitting on my '49 has a 1/8" opening, so you're not going to flow more than that primary restriction no matter how hard you pull. In fact the harder you pull makes it worse as the gas will flash(vaporize) across the opening. That's why there's a fuel bowl/float on the carb to allow the pump to catch up at idle, etc. PD's don't usually like to be run dead headed, so it's a flexible diaphragm type.
Unless it's strictly required due to physical factors, I'm not a fan of pumping into a pump to make it work, so I'd rather see efforts addressing the stock parts/faults, than add complexity. Less costly and makes troubleshooting much easier. A new fuel line and a rebuild of the pump and carb should cure what ails it. I like a fuel bowl filter on carb inlet to see what's happening also.
One over-looked item, the "pulsing" mechanicals require a dampener and mostly they are not replaced just plugged off. I found one for my pump at "Then and Now".

If the DMV doesn't have any current title listing for it, it's darn near impossible to find something you once owned unless you know who it was sold to and then trace them down sequentially.

might have better luck on the prewar forum.

IDEA: Rather than reinvent - sometimes these parts fit across lines so maybe look at some of the competitive seals to at least get some ideas - might have been supplied by the pedal/shift assy people - like Wagner or their suppliers. They made the brakes and someone made the clutch, etc. P didn't make everything.

No help. I feel/share the pain. I got ~20 yds sitting in the closet for the 2 door plus two full hides (to replace the blue vinyl trim) plus another finished headliner that's wrong color. So you might have got off light!
This is an area that needs more research. There has got to be some info somewhere on the interior stuff. Who the suppliers were and what the fabrics were. It's too painful to go through this for the average restorer and a major expense to not get it right. PAC doesn't seem interested, you get palmed off on a roster person that doesn't have the answers either. Maybe if it was a 6 figure prewar they might care????

I'm glad I ask, because this ol ironheaded arking sparking brain - didn't even think of wood. I have some spare heavy casters I bought for one of my steel work benches but they were too high. I'm guessing one 6 by 4 from the old hammock stand would do and I think there's some left in the wood pile if I didn't use it all. I can make a rolling steel frame for the casters and anchor the wood on it once I figure out the COG. I thought about cutting a scrap P frame or cutting this one and put on caster but it's a waste. Front suspensions probably going to go anyway. A new custom frame is nice but pricey and I wouldn't need a stand but more storage room. I don't feel qualified to make one and drive it 150 mph with me in it. I'll just have to make sure the stand isn't worth more then this motor!
ps; I don't check in enuff, I missed a free '55 P V8 in the for sale listing.

HH, this is probably the time/place to use a silicone rubber for long life and elasticity. Gloss won't show up / matter down there.

http://www.dowcorning.com/content/rubber/silicone-rubber.aspx (there are others)

Since Cad is winding down, P work is winding up. I'll be pulling the motor/trans in a couple. Has anyone made a stand to hold the entire motor and trans in tact for storage?
If yes, can you shoot a pix, diagram, or dimensions?
Once it's out and dangling is a bit late for fabrication.
By the looks of it, if the trans mounting brackets come out with it, but not sure on that, it's a simple four point support. I don't recall any drawings. The motor is shown stand alone in cut away. Or point me to info.
I'm still deciding and there's not enuff value to sell and not enuff power to rebuild, so long term storage is in theme with the work, to make it all reversible, if someday the next guy wants to restore to orig.