So in chasing a random misfire and 0300 codes that I've been getting on track but not on the street, I read this entire thread, tore apart my fuel pump system, and learned a few things that others might find helpful.
TLDR - you need to replace your fuel pump in order to replace your fuel filter if you've got a 2011-2014 S197, and the internal fuel filter is not "lifetime." And the way the fuel pump system is designed, I can't see any advantage to running with a full tank of gas on track to avoid fuel starvation in corners.
As background I've got a 2011 GT with 165,000 miles, street/track, original and stock drivetrain but coilovers and 305 tires for track. So it makes decent lateral g's. But my thoughts are limited to this kind of a 'tweener car and things likely will be different with a real race car.
1. The 2005-2010 S197 has an external fuel filter. On 2011-2014 the filter is internal to the fuel pump and Ford calls it a "lifetime" filter. That is a lie. Because I'm not much of a mechanic and I have so many miles on my car, I started just throwing parts at my problem including a new stock fuel pump. I took apart the old one in the name of science and when I got to the "lifetime" filter and its chamber, an absolute ton of completely black fuel poured out. I removed and cut apart the filter and it was totally filled with dirt and grime, very dark gray color on the outside, super dirty, everything you would expect from a 165,000 mile fuel filter.
2. In a GT, there is only one fuel pump on the driver side of the saddle tank. It sits in a plastic basket that is full of fuel and open at the top. In the pressure side line from the pump to the engine, there is a vortex-style siphon valve (aka "jet pump") that is hooked up to a low pressure hose that runs from the passenger side of the saddle tank over to the fuel pump basket. That low pressure hose pulls fuel from the right side of the tank to the left side by way of the fuel pump basket but in no way does it supply fuel directly to the engine. The fuel pump only pulls fuel for the engine from the fuel pump basket. The fuel pump basket can be filled by fuel from both the left and right side of the tank if the right side is full, or from the left side alone if the right side tank is empty.
3. On the right side of the tank, on the other end of that low pressure hose, there is a sender valve and a separate float so the fuel gauge can correctly report fuel level. But there is no pump of any sort.
4. Because the siphon or "jet pump" is always operating whenever the fuel pump is running, the right side of the tank gets drained before the left side. I don't know exactly how fast each side drains but they don't go down equally. I can report that with about 3 gallons of fuel still in the driver side of my gas tank, the passenger side was totally dry. I have seen reports that the passenger side float measures from full to 1/2 tank on your gauge and the driver side float measures from 1/2 to E.
5. The effect of all this is that the fuel pump doesn't know the difference between a full tank of gas and a half tank. Once you get down below half a tank, maybe towards 1/4 tank, then yes, at that point the fuel pump is getting more exposed to air and you might start to see some fuel starvation issues. But even then, the pickup on the pump sits inside a separate plastic "basket" which further helps prevent sloshing and fuel starvation.
6. I think the dual fuel pumps on the GT500 and the like are designed to provide the needed extra fuel for those big motors. But based on the design I was looking at in my car, I don't see how dual pumps would help prevent fuel starvation due to lat g's.
Just my observations, sorry for the long post and I hope this might be helpful to someone else battling similar problems. If you've got an old 2011-2014, replace the fuel pump so you can get a clean filter.