AA, they put it in for the reason you mentioned - it caught stuff. Then they got smart when they realized that it was catching stuff before the primary fuel filter, getting gummed up, and was inaccessible.
Kinda an easy answer from there: please, all the owners said, stop putting those damn screens in the tanks, my fuel filters do the job much better.
And they stopped doing that in '92 or '94.
And that's yet another reason to plumb your fuel: tank, primary, pump then engine. Most were built tank, pump, primary and the filters (haha) in the bottom of the pumps would get gummed up. You know, just like what's described in the Critical Upgrade page I suggested for you.
Why do boat builders get it wrong? They're no more perfect than us sailors!


