You should be able to replace the fuel line, fish the old filter out of the tank, and reuse with the new line. Two things to keeep in mind. You need special fuel grade PVC Tubing. Tygon brand is yellow and fairly expensive at $.75 to $1.00 a foot. The clear stuff at Home Depot and Lowes is OK with fuel and much cheaper ($.15 - $.20/ft) but the sizing usually won't work. Correct tubing from McMaster-Carr in Tygon is 5555K43 9/64 OD x 5/64 ID and 5555K22 3/16 OD x 3/32 ID. Both are about $.75 per foot. You need to measure which one is appropriate for your machine. Size is critical, because too big and you won't get it into the tank; too small and the tank will leak where the tubing passes thru. Second item is to install in tank. Homelite like other cheaper trimmers does not use a fitting in the tank. Rather fuel line passes through smaller hole in tank and pressure on tubing maintains the seal. To install you need to cut tubing at a 45 degree or more angle to provide a sharp point. Thread this thru the hole by twisting and pushing gently. When you get enough through, you can then grab the end with needle-nose pliers and pull more through. Cut the end off square and push on the filter/pickup stone. Then pull the excess tubing back out of the tank, leaving enough of a service loop to permit the stone always travel by gravity to the lowest part of the tank. Usually three inches is about right. Now connect the other end to the carburetor or purge, and you should be good to go.

I have had this problem fixed under warrantee and it just happened again. The switch goes bad. The part number is UT41002-17 and it cost about $4. To test if this is the problem (please don't try this if your are not comfortable with electricity) open up the housing and connect the leads that go to the switch directly - black to brown and white to brown. If the motor works you found the problem. I am trying to order the part from my local dealer to avoid shipping charges.

I agree with bambooo here. If one of your main complaints against the electric trimmers you have is the diameter of branches it will cut, you would be disappointed with the low-end gas models. I am not sure how the expand-it hedge trimmer attachment works, but to cut the thicker branches, you want to make sure that you have dual action cutting on the blades. The weedeater that you mentioned has one fixed blade, and one moving blade. This will limit the cutting thickness to a maximum of about 3/8". In other words, the Weedeater gas models will cut the same diameter branches that your current hedge-hogs will. If you want the larger capacity, check out Echo, Tanaka, Stihl, Shindaiwa, etc. gas models. These models will however begin at around $250. For what it is worth, I have a set of Homelite HT-22 (3/8" capacity variety) gas hedge trimmers. I really like the hand-held gas type for the ease of use and no electric cord. The 3/8" capacity is adequate for my use. The major down-side to the gas trimmers is they are significantly heavier than a set of electrics. Good luck.

Go to your building supply store and buy a length of downspout, like is used with rain gutters on your house. The length should be the same as the lenghth of your hedge trimmer blades. Then fashion a leakproof cap on one end, and some sort of stand, like a piece of scrap lumber. Then fill the downspout with plain old paint thinner and set your hedge trimmer into it and let it set for a couple of hours. After this you can give it a quick brushing with an old paint brush and then a quick dip back in the thinner to rinse it off. After the paint thinner evaporates, give the blades a spray of the lubrication of your choice. Personally, I use WD40, which many here say is not good because it leaves a waxy film, but I find the waxy film helps keep the goo from the hedges from sticking as bad.