I took the pump apart, a couple scratches, nothing major. Nothing in the filter, nothing in the pan, all clean. I did not use a gasket. The pump is an older cast one. I have a Titan on another motor, I'll use that one. There were no marks at all on the brass gear, very clean. Could it of been from 1) Just a junk part, bad metal? 2) Could the alignment problem with the shaft (too long by mistake, or the shaft just wrong)?