My 95 jeep grand Cherokee loses acceleration on hils and after stopping?

Honest to goodness, I haven't seen a fuel filter -- except on a Diesel engine -- cause an engine performance problem in the last 25 years of working with cars. In theory, sure, possible. But so incredibly unlikely. Where is it smoking from? What color is the smoke? You'd find out a lot of great information with some hands on diagnostic testing by a trained professional.