99 Dodge Ram 360 V8 barely running and backfiring after sitting for 2 months

[junkyard junky]

Pulled the 5 speed trans out of my 99 dodge ram 3/4 ton to have it worked on. Waited on the trans shop 6 weeks to finished. Another week to find the time to put it in. Started the truck today and it barely idles, backfires once or twice while idling then dies. Just wondering what would make it run rough. Getting frustrated since I can't seem to get anything accomplished.

 

[NoCar2023]

Verify your distributor cap was not knocked loose or damaged during transmission removal.
When the engine was tilted back.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Dodge trucks are a fickle thing. when I had my Dakota RT if the battery got real low the computer would reset and it would have to relearn. It would not idle or even pull out of the driveway until I sat there for 10 minutes at 2k rpm. Not saying this is your issue but something to think about.

 

[BeeKool]

You may have gotten some corrosion under the cap.
Clean cap and rotor.

 

[VANDAN]

How about the gas, with the weather changing, and how much was in the tank ? Maybe some new Hi-Test...

 

[WP29440SE]

take some carb cleaner to the tps and iacv on the throttle body. my money is that the iacv is dirty. I have a 95 with a 318 and every few months it pulls the same ****. it runs good but those sensors are temperamental

 

[moparedtn]

There are codes present. Pull the codes, fix the truck.

 

[Don Frelier]

You should check the crank trigger as well . I know when you put an automatic trans in its easy to snap it off. If it ran ok before it will run again.

 

[JB400]

Mine draws moisture, and is a pain to start when it does. It spits, sputters, backfires (destroyed the original airbox doing so), and just about have to run the battery dead to get it to hit. Once it does, runs like a champ

 

[BeatersRus]

first thing id check after a tranny job is the distributer
pull the cap back off and spin the motor while looking Carefully at the rotor spinning
is it bent?
this is common for morons who dont use their heads when pulling the tranny.

okay so its straight move to the coil,is it working properly and a good coil?
the symptoms are the same,truck will fire up run and run like carp.

last but not least,the crank trigger.
check that carefully,for not just cracks or improper installation,but Also check to make Sure they didnt swap your og one out.
pretty sure the manual and the autos were different.

also for you 97 and down,check your intake pan gasket they are notorious for leaking from the factory.
hard starts pops and losing oil levels.
this pan bolts to the Underside of the intake.

 

[YY1]

will it run if you give it moderate throttle?

Two Dakotas in our immediate family ('00 and '03) and both idle control solenoids went bad within 2 weeks of each other.

 

[Slap Stick]

First do the key dance trick. You probably know it but if not with the key in the OFF position turn the key to ON-not start- quickly three times and leave it in the ON position. If you're has a digital odometer read the error codes if any. They will be p0355 for example. It analog watch the check engine light. It will blink any codes stored thusly- a 12 would be one blink followed by 2 blinks. I believe yours would use the odometer since it is OBD II.
Now You have a clue on where to start.
My money is on the crank position sensor was bumped sometime during the r&r.

 

[junkyard junky]

I started out looking at the dist cap to check its condition and couldn't find anything. So I check the sensor on back of the engine that goes through the bellhousing. 2 of the 3 wires had bare spots where they go into the sensor. Pulled the sensor to fix that issue and installed it to see see if the truck would do any better and that fixed the problem. The two bare wires were hitting each other. Thank you to everyone who replied!