Is it too big a pain to pull the unit, and possibly clean the windings on the sender? I'm not too familiar with the '97+ pump/sending unit, but if it's anything like the '96-'98 ZJ piece, it just may be dirty. I went through that with my '98 ZJ, the sender wires were dirty, and the wiper was making poor contact due to the scum. The pump went at about this time, due to the scum on the filter screen. At 60k miles. The dealer blamed it on the brand of gasoline I used, dissolving the tank. The gas people said it was the poly tank degrading due to poor quality. Was turning into a pissing match. I got rid of it.
If you're committed to dropping the tank (I think you have to?), maybe clean the windings with electrical contact cleaner, if it appears to be dirty. Clean the screen, too. Maybe you don't need to buy new, especially if the pump motor works OK. Just a thought...