76 Beetle won't start

If you turn the key and the starter doesn't engage at all you have a hot-start problem. You can install a hot-start relay to bypass this. Here's an article on how to do it. It's for a bus, but the principle is the same.

The fuel pump being bad would make it harder to start the longer it sits. The fuel pump diaphragm has to maintain residual pressure of about 20-22 psi when the car is off. When that diaphragm tears you end up with low residual pressure, or even fuel rushing past the torn diaphragm and washing down your cylinder walls.