I have been having issues keeping the Dakota cool while idling in traffic. Initially I installed the Max Cooling clutch fan that my truck was supposed to come with, the stock one seemed to rarely ever engage even when temps kept climbing. After that I noticed the fan was always locked up and roaring once I got up to temp. The truck continued to get hot just like it did, but took longer now. I bought a radiator from Advance Auto as I had a coupon and discount on the part, so it came out to $100, then I noticed it was a single row radiator and I had a 2 row in the truck. However, the single row appears to be just as thick and slightly taller, but just has a LARGE single row...I was hesitant to install it and ordered a new water pump as well.

I'm glad I did, the pump that was on the truck appeared to be stock and after this latest coolant flush, when I replaced the thermostat, the truck constantly used coolant. Once I removed the pump I noticed that the weep hole had obviously been leaking badly, and the waterpump gasket was failing. It was the stock pump with 204k miles on it!

I installed:
180* Thermostat
GMB 120-3041P High Performance water pump
CARQUEST Radiator Part No. 431336

Once all the new parts were on, I bled the system as much as possible after filling it and letting the thermostat open. I took it for a drive afterwards with the AC on high, since that usually makes it overheat pretty quickly. I couldn't get the truck above the first 1/3 of the gauge. Even while idling for about 20-30 minutes in drive, it just keep a constant temp. Once moving and when the thermostat opens it instantly drops a tick on the gauge, and then holds stable for the entire drive. So far it looks like it is fixed! I just wanted to share and list the parts I used in case anyone else is looking for a good high flow pump.