I have an old Craftsman 8-hp chipper-shredder with a plastic gas tank.
A valve screws to the bottom of the tank. From there a foot of hose
leads to a transparent filter, from which another foot of hose leads to
the carburetor.

When I try to start for the first time in the day there may be no gas in
the filter. When I'm using it it may shut down with no gas in the
filter. Taking the cap off the tank doesn't help. Unfastening the fuel
line and using a syringe to blow are into the fuel tank will get the
fuel going again.

I assume something sometimes blocks the screen in the tank. I can't get
a good look at the screen. In the past, I have put water in the tank,
shaken it, and dumped it. That didn't help. With the tank off the
shredder, gas and water drained with no trouble.

Has somebody cured a similar problem?