02 V6 Fuel Tank Removal Issues

Do you have the filler neck unbolted from the body of the car at the gas cap?
the neck is some times hard to pull out of the tank, also get a new gasket for the filler neck to tank conection it almost alway breaks.

If you're replacing the tank, obviously this won't help, but if it's the fuel pump, this worked for me.

I just put a new fuel pump in my 99. I removed the strap bolts, and using a floor jack and a 4' length of 2x12 lumber, dropped it gently enough on one side - with the filler neck still passed into my trunk but disconnected at the gas cap end from the fender - to clear enough distance to replace the fuel pump/sending unit.