Excellent ides on the discharge valve if it becomes a problem. I'm figuring the pool is 13k gallons and the filter is a little over 3/4 full of sand. It "appears" that the guy put the appropriate amount of sand in however it's hard to tell. I'm sure another bag wouldn't fit in there. I brought the water level up to within about an inch or so of the TOP of the skimmer opening to stop it from sucking the skimmer totally dry, now there's just the tornado but only when the basket is removed. If it is in place, the pump doesn't seem to loose prime. I did tell the friend not to backwash until the pressure increased 10 psi in the hopes that too would help things. She had been backwashing every time she turned the pump on.
Being the optimistic person I am, I've tried convincing her that the guy probably meant well and had the mentality that "bigger's better" but that this definitely did not apply to swimming pool pumps. Needless to say, she was quite upset that he had done this since she spent over a $1,000 for the pump/filter and to have it moved from under the deck to the side. I think he also closed the pool for her, and did a great job at that. Either way, I think we can make what she has work for now.