Yup. I know I've not invented something unique here. I'm just applying it here to hopefully get some better reliability and less noise.
Filter before the pump? Certainly. I installed one of those when I installed the first new pump. The tank appeared quite clean inside when I originally drained it but no harm adding a pre-filter just in case. After the first few pumps failed (including one from an F-150 application) I began to wonder if the tank pickup tube feeding the pump was clogged (such as from sediment in the tank). I temporarily installed a low-range vacuum gauge on a T-fitting at the inlet to the pump so I could see if the pump was being starved of fuel and maybe that was causing them to become loud and fail. That was not the issue. I even cut open the first fuel filter after about 100 miles to inspect the pleats and found very little junk so I'm certainly getting plenty of clean fuel to the pump.
I find great satisfaction in repairing old things, especially somewhat forgotten vehicles. We also have a 1987 Mazda B2000 and five 1965-66 Corvairs in our family fleet that all get regular use so not really something out of the ordinary for me to keep these on the road. Since I'm using cheap, off the shelf parts from Amazon and love to do electronics it's a fun project but certainly not something a normal mechanic would do, especially with a customer's car.
I might do a quick block diagram to show the basics. If you've ever needed to control the speed of a small DC motor then you'll have done this all before. Here's a link to a video that shows pretty much what I did with the PWM controller.