The one advantage of the plastic in-line filter, you can see if there's crap floating around in there, the one advantage of a filter upstream of the pump, it may keep the crap out of your fuel pump.

I wonder if you have a gas tank vent problem? If air is slow to get into the tank as fuel is leaving it may pull a vacuum, starve the engine of fuel and cause it to stall, then start again after the pressure equalises with outside air pressure. Could also be crud in the tank clogging up the filter sock on the fuel pick up causing vacuum in the line and starvation. I've experienced both situations, one this past weekend and now have a fuel tank in my shed while I replace the pick-up tube, not in my Firebird thankfully.
Then again it could be neither of these things.