If all you wanted was yard art why does it need to be restored? Why not just spray paint a real one and call it a day?
As for the education, why? Find any pump that you like and can afford and buy it.
You don't need to know it is super rare or common, in the prices you are looking at any pump is a good deal.
I don't think you will find info here about reproduction pumps. None of us here have them. We collect real ones and have tried to encourage you to so the same. They ARE around, they ARE in your budget. What more can we say?
I have seen a few repop pumps at stores and stuff and to me they look silly. I guess to some they look nice, that is why they are made. I don't know who made the ones I saw, didn't look too close. All the ones I have seen are way too short to look real.
Here is what you should do if you really want a repop. Find out what kind of pump it is supposed to be. Wayne, Tokheim, etc and then come and ask us what the size of a real one is. If the repop you are looking at is 7 feet tall and the real one is 10 feet... then you will know something. Or you can ask the company what the scale is.
If you don't mind the repop being much smaller than an original, buy one. I have seen them on ebay cheap enough.
Contact the guys that sell them. I just don't think the guys on here will have the answers you want. We don't collect repops.
Good luck!

I remember the good old days when gold was worth more than rust!