1998 Dodge Caravan won't start

My 1998 Dodge Caravan wouldn't start Thursday morning. It would make a cranking sound but not start. I had a retired mechanic check it and after checking every detail and almost giving up he got under the van and hit underneath the fuel area with a wrench and the vehicle surprisingly started and I was able to make it to work. He advised that I needed a new fuel pump and warned that the vehicle would probably not start again after shutting it off. After work I tried to see if it would start again and it did so I stubbornly drove home. After 20 minutes of commuting through a highway and almost home the van kind of jumped and made a shutting off sound and I noticed that it was shutting off so luckily I was able to pull over and avoid an accident. I tried hitting the bottom of the van with a stick like the mechanic did and it would start but shut off again quickly. I tried doing the same many times and hitting underneath even harder but although that caused it to start it wouldn't last too long. Finally I had to call a tow truck and plan to see how I can get it to a shop tomorrow morning. Would really appreciate any advise on seeing if I can get it to start for a longer period to drive it to the shop tomorrow. The shop is actually 5 houses down from where I have it parked so my first concern at the moment is having to get a tow truck to just move it 5 houses down.