The fuel pump mounting gaskets in general tend to swell when removed so they may not fit and seal properly. I'm not sure if this is the case with Contours, but it was common. If it is not damaged and has a good fit, you should be able to use it over, but I have always tried to use a fresh one whenever possible.
Also, when these cars were near new, throwing away the plugged disc was a good answer when it was found to be restricted. Now that our cars are aging, it would be wise to evaluate if you want to go through all that labor without replacing the pump. Although I would be inclined to not replace the pump if the screen was found to be plugged and felt that it answered the question of what is wrong, I'll admit that I have not always made the best choices in such situations. In your case, your paying for the labor. It may not hurt to go ahead and do somethig about the pump so you don't have to pay the labor twice if something more is wrong.
