Well, I made it back from the Blue Ridge with some new parts in the bike. Got into a dealer in Hendersonville who specialize in Gold Wings and STs and the support was great although it took some convincing to get them to believe it was a pump issue. First they wanted to look at Ethanol as the culprit but after putting some additive in and taking it for a 100 mile ride we ruled that out. Then they went for the Fuel Pressure Regulator, again 50 miles out, the symptoms were back and I limped back to the shop. Now we went for the Fuel Pump.
Despite this trial and error approach, I still was happy with the service as the shop was convinced they were saving me money by trying the quick inexpensive fixes first. Also, they had no parts in stock so they pulled up a new bike from the warehouse and proceeded to swap the FPR and fuel pump right there rather than making me wait for several days for the parts to come in. As it was I did loose a couple of days riding but the bike was back in top shape before I hit the Tail of the Dragon and the ride back on the Blue Ridge. Ran the bike about 1800 miles since the pump was changed in all types of weather (heat, cold, rain, etc) and at all altitudes (from sea level to 6500') and it ran great. I would have changed it for an auto pump before I left but there was no time, it was cancel or go so I took a chance and the end result was having to go with the Honda pump. Sometimes you have to pay for convenience, although the cost of the pump and the install was quite reasonable compared to what I would have paid here in Canada (of course I would have saved the install costs by doing it myself). BTW, I paid for the FPR but once we determined it was not at fault the dealer refunded that cost.
It was frustrating when the bike starting bucking but thanks to the great info I found on this forum, I knew what the issue was and was confident in what had to be done. You guys are great, thanks, this is the first place I come to when I have an ST issue.