why am I experiencing fuel starvation

There can be multiple reasons for this. Given the age of the car you could have sediment in tank that is clogging the fuel filter. You could simply have a dirty fuel filter. The pump diaphragm could be old and worn and not supplying enough fuel so when the float bowl level drops you don't have enough fuel to run the car. Old rubber fuel lines can collapse internally. I would change the filter first. It is cheap to do and easily accessible. You should cut the filter open to see how dirty it is as well since that could point to something amiss in the fuel tank. If that is clean and clear I would go for a pump. Carb last.