that's an 8.25. Good rear end. But in the end, your truck just isnt going to tow 7k lbs any meaningful distance without the transmissio frying.

 

I don't tow that much weight more than 4-5 miles. And when I do it's a family member's vehicle that broke down. The trailer and vehicle combined weigh in at almost 7k.

 

If that's all you're doing, just put a chain on whatever it is and pull it home.
Because not only will your transmission go out on short order, your suspension just can't handle it. And you'd have next to no steering.

 

In case anyone is wondering , this is the first Dodge product I've owned , so I don't know much about them.

 

But as far as fuel economy goes with the truck by itself , what could I do to slightly raise it without going into it internally ?

 

my 92 with a Mag V8 (2wd) is better than 13mpg and though barely, so is my 96 V8 4wd.
and if youre flat towing a dead car it is supported by all 4 wheels, that isnt as bad as a trailer as there is no "tongue weight" with what you are wanting to do.... I pulled a few cars with my 90. pulled a car back from Louisville to near chicago and another back from far southern IL on tow dollys. It wasnt that fast getting rolling, but once rolling it did OK. just be careful! and remember you are stopping 2x the weight, slow down early. if towing w/a chain BE SURE to have someone in the dead car to help by using the brakes on the towed car,

 

Basics first:

Full tune up: plugs, cap, wires, rotor, air filter, fuel filter

Quality oil change with quality filter
Could change all your drive train fluids as well to full synthetic
Make sure tires are properly inflated
Remove any weight thats not needed
Easy on the throttle on take off and speed changes

 

It just had a complete tune up two months ago , tires are properly inflated, and as far as oil , I'm running Valvoline Conventional 5w30. 10w30 is getting hard to find in my area. Trans has Valvoline Dex/Merc because I didn't like the shift quality with ATF+4. Plus Dex/Merc is all the previous owner ran in it. And Diff oil is still the factory fill.

 

ur transmission is going to blow VERY quickly now. ATF+4 is the ONLY Thing you should run in your truck. Anything else will make it burn out. If it had shift problembs before, the transmission needs rebuilt or replaced. Honestly, before you do ANYTHING else to your truck, you need to step back and ask someone who knows a thing or two and not joe shmoe. You sound eager to learn, but no one around to teach you.

 

More or Less. I'm willing to learn , but have no one to teach me. It shifts fine with the Dex/Merc , when it had the ATF+4 you couldn't tell when it went into gear.