Engine stopped running while driving 55

Newbi to Jeep Forum. Great site to harness a wealth of information for DIY repairs.

When feasible I would appreciate if all the 1000 years of experience in Jeep industry could weigh in on there thought regarding the following issue:

Issue. Driving 55 mpd down the road and the engine coughed (like i was running out of gas) a few times and quit running. Would not re-start. Towed it home and checked the following:

1. Attached fuel pressure gauge to fuel rail and it reads 40 psi when key is turned to power (Not positive if this is the correct terminology) after 1:45 fuel rail pressure decreases to 0.
2. Disconnected and reconnected both crankshaft and camshaft connectors (X3), still doesn't start.
3. Swapped fuel pump relay with a good known relay.
4. No check engine light before engine quit.
5. No codes when I checked also.
6. There has been no modifications done to the engine or electrical system for the past year.

Question. What should be the fuel pressure at the rail and would it be constant??

Jeep Specs: 97 JEEP WRANGLER TJ, 4.0L, Manual. 116K miles. My Mods: Swapped to DANA 44 G2 Core, 4.56 Disc brakes (Rear), re-geared front to 4.56 and chrome molly axles swap, Rubi 3.5 Suspension w/shks and swapped rear track bar, HD-Y-Link steering kit, Brute force Diff covers (front & rear), 33" AT sport tires.

Thank you in Advance, Larry

Update. I gave the throttle body a shot of fuel and no start at all (even monetarily) and with the psi (appears low) i could potentially have two problems. The crank case sensor and a tired fuel pump (probably the original from 97).

I forgot my son-in-law works for Mopar in Oregon so i reached out to him asking if there is an authoritative source document that calls out the fuel pressure at the rail for 97 Wrangler and he plans to research tomorrow.

Update. Attaching a few Mopar Trouble shooting documents (Fuel Pump Diagnostics, Checking the PCM and Ground Circuits, Checking the Fuel Pump & Checking Fuel System) which someone else in the future might find useful that Mopar dealerships use to troubleshoot .

I performed the PCM and Ground Circuit test (passed), as mentioned earlier my fuel pressure at the rail is 40 psi and agree with TJ4Jim Jeep Addict that it should start with 40 psi. The Mopar/Dealership document (attached) says 49 psi (+/- 5 psi).

Thanks Goatman. Tomorrow i plan to look/test for ground issues and spark. Also, my significant other reminded me I just installed a thermal barrier in the cab to improve the insulation and found an Old alarm wiring system/black box under the console with 2-3 wires attached. I moved it up under the glove box, honestly have no clue what the 2-3 wires going to this little black box that attached and I haven't had a chance to trace that out but was thinking of changes I have made recently that could impact the running of the vehicle.

No spark.

I got a laugh out of that! Brings back memoirs of my high school days. I'll play it while I'm trouble shooting my Crank Shaft Sensor tomorrow.

Update: Repaired!!. Thank you for contributing to the process!! If your interested read on.

I was jamming to some music (Traffic) and removed the distributor cap and found two metal pieces (see photos) no longer attached to the rotor and i put my finger on the shaft and Holly Cow a 1/4 of play (see video). With that said I installed a New Distributor (rotor and cap were included) and bingo starts right up and its quieter. I was getting what I would call a loud noise and thought it was my injectors (read other feeds about the injectors ticking). So, i think this distributor has been slowly failing all along.

Larry

BTW. With the engine running i'm getting 49 psi of fuel pressure at the rail.

Its amazes me the jeep continued to run (no misfires, no lag, no ques of any issues besides this metallic noise which i thought was the injectors) in the condition with 3-4 of the output contacts shaved off by the rotor for what I bet has been ongoing a few months. Info. This is not a daily driver vehicle so I only put couple hundred miles a month on her and noted on the maintenance and parts, thank you!