Neither do I buy into the theory that running out of fuel sucks up sh*te or water from the tank. Any water that finds it's way into the tank will pass through to the filter and collect in the bowl in the bottom of the filter housing, hence the float activated warning light and drain tap...
I'd agree with you on the general sh*te from the bottom of the tank. The fuel pickup is designed to cope with that. It's a different scenario with regard to diesel bug though. It doesn't sink to the bottom of the tank. It floats on the interface between the diesel and the water that's always present to some degree in the bottom of the tank.
As outlined above, I have personal experience of this on a van I bought and did my usual belts, fluids & filters routine, as soon as I got it. Unbeknown to me, the tank had a serious case of diesel bug. So when I almost ran out of diesel a few weeks later, the slime got sucked into the fuel lines.
Also, when you fill your tank after 'running on fumes' for a while, it's pretty likely you'll stir up anything that is in the bottom more vigorously than filling up, when theres a cushion of some existing fuel in it. Here are some [unfortunately not great] pics I took at the time it happened to me...
PUMPING OUT THE FUEL TANK --you can see the lumps of black crud in the pipe. This was what was mixed in with the £50 worth of clean diesel I'd just topped up with.
CLOSE UP OF ABOVE
And, this was the extra inline fuel filter I'd fitted new only a few weeks before. Which probably saved me from an expensive pump rebuild.
Now, obviously this wasn't what happened in Shayne's case. But it's certainly something to bear in mind for anyone who's running an old vehicle of uncertain pedigree. Have a read up on diesel bug. It's pretty amazing stuff. A bit like those bacterias and nematodes that can survive radiation and being in space, it actually thrives and grows while submerged in diesel.
Just for peace of mind, I always use a fuel additive now that has a diesel bug inhibitor in it. And, if you're dismantling your truck it might be worth adding a steam clean of the fuel tank to your todo list, as a preventative measure.