hey guys. ok heres my situation. it may not be relevant but ill give a rundown of my situation. i did a v8 swap into my sonoma while back. i took the engine out of a 87 firebird trans am. its a 305. its carbd. 87k on it. i ran all the numbers, and quadruple checked everything, its a chevy 305. i was never really aware that there was a chevy 305, and a pontiac 305 ect. i was like umm... now i know. i dropped it directly in, without doing anything but a oil pan. i had my fun, whooped it .then ran into a few issues. so a good friend, very reputable engine builder hooked me up on spare things he had, he checked it over, making sure all was well, so we decided to freshen it up, new cam, lifters,water pump, intake, freeze plugs, and a tune up. i used all stock replacement parts. i know, before i get any crap for running stock parts lol, it was plenty fast and i liked it just as it was. anyhow, i got bored a few months ago, and since i cant go get my 80s square yet, i decided to tinker with my motor. well, enter yesterday, i was searching online at random car part sites. i came across oil pump kits. i changed mine a few weeks ago. so, i clicked on it, seeing if my buddy really saved me cash on the kit from napa. yup he did. but, i saw something that caught my eye. i saw a part called the oil pump shaft retainer ? i was like what is that ? i didnt have one in there when i ripped my motor open. and when i bought my new oil pump shaft kit, it didnt have one with it. i never even heard of it till yesterday. so, i guess my question is, is this part mandatory? is it crucial that i run it? i truly dont know. my motor is still on the motor stand, so if i need to do this , its no biggie. if so, can anybody tell me where it even goes ? if common sense serves me right, it proably keeps the shaft more in line maybe ? and second quick question, should i run a gasket or rtv or ect . under the oil pump ? i hear yes and no. well, theres my novel. im sorry it is so long of a question. i have a habit of telling long stories and giving lots of details haha. thanks guys, i hope somebody can steer me in right direction.