Not sure why nobody suggested simply testing if the vacuum pump produces a proper vacuum. If so, it is doing its job and doesn't require replacement. No need to remove the pump (3 hr job if you do it right and clean well). Buy a vacuum gage. I have 4 at home - stand-alone gage (common years ago to test carburetor cars), a "vacuum boost gage" (Harbor Freight), gage on my hand vacuum pump (Harbor Freight), and gage from my plastic Mighty-Mite pump that failed. Disconnect the metal hose at the far end from the vacuum pump, so nothing else in the car is attached, and connect the gage to it. If like me, you have a "hose box" with various sizes, which makes that easy.

If you read 15" Hg vacuum or greater, the pump is fine. If not, sometimes just the outlet check valve is bad. That part is simple to unscrew and replace but costs $60+ even used.

You should finish the episodes about Tram and Ember. We kind of lost the storyline.