That's an o-ring on that stub which is teh power feed wire to the fuel heater. ADVANCE now sells a rebuild kit for the filter heads. DORMAN # 904-124 for $23.99, and most stores stock it. Also ONLY run the metal filters, not the palstic ones which are prone to losing there seal and letting air in.
Plastic: like WIX leak around the WIF sensor and are known to let the WIF sensor fall clean out of the filter.
The OP's 1st post is exactly an air leak. Air leaks can also show up as low rail pressure and limp mode under full power. GM eliminated the troublesome liftpump, but, introduced a troublesome filter head...