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Thanks Beaker. I am taking a break from prepping it to replace the timing and balanmcer belts while it rains. I had still been thinking the dealer was right when I decided to change the water pump. That is when I discovered the broken balancer belt which probably means it has been the problem for the last 6-7 years. I have already started looking for a rebuilt head as bent valves are the likely source of the smoke and gas smell.

On the crankshaft sprocket bolt; I found a YT vid on how to remove it. Let it be said that Hanes really dropped the ball in the instructions for timing/balancer belt replacement. By the "correct" method you need to break the bolt free before removing the timing belt. That "correct" method BTW may crack your head. The Raceline video I found on YT the guy uses drill bits in the sprocket holes without threads to create the pull back so you can use a tire iron between the bits and the shaft of the bolt and a socket to break it. I'll get to it now as the rain seems to have slowed down enough.

 

I am totally unfamiliar with your motor by balancer belt are you talking in the harmonic balancer that goes on the crank like on a v8 ? also i didn't read back thru the whole thread so i missed the part where its smoking, does it do this all the time? what colour is the smoke?

 

This is the instruction page I am using along with my hanes manual which atre basically the same thing.
http://www.justanswer.com/car/1ni76-...g-replace.html
Autozone calls it the balancer belt. I called it the B timing belt. Chrysler had Mitsubishi build these Ram50 motors in a joint effort and they used the same motor in their own Mighty Max line of trucks and a few others. There are alot of vehicles with these motors in them and they are very strong when running right.

 

Bent a drill bit and broke a bit before heating it up and spraying WD on it. Then it came off with only one more bit bent. I used a carpenters 18" pry bar because my tire iron end was too short.

 

It is running. I drove & it almost ran out of gas. It lopes and lurches when it gets close to running out in the same way it was when I started so there may be some merit to the dealer diagnosis.
Anyway it is a lot tighter and runs much much better. It wanted to lose power over 50mph lurching and sputtering. I tuned the carb after it got warm and it responded as described in the instructions for the first time. So I figure next I will replace the after market fuel pump with an OE one. And if the rebuilt heads guy i left a message with has a deal I may go ahead and do that otherwise I'll probably just do a valve job if the problem survives a new fuel pump.
EDIT Rereading the book I see the 2.0 fuel pump is actually very different than the example pump they show in the pics. The diagram of the 2.0 pump is the same as the pump I have in. So I will assume it is still good and go for replacing the soft parts of the fuel line. If that fails I will report here and then replace the fuel pump assuming the massive amounts of alcohol they started putting in the gas here about 7-8 years ago has ruined it.

It had loud lifter tapit noise when it first started but by the time I had driven 15 miles and was back home it was smooth and quiet. The O ring to the water pipe on the water pump leaked while I was out driving leaving a white coolant stain on the block, but it was dry when I got back home. I added about a quart of water to the radiator. I have to take it in for the exhaust change I want tomorrow and I'll check it out then.

 

So I went to change the hose at the tank and noticed a dent in it and I wiped it with my finger and it started leaking. Wouldn't ya know i had just filled it the evening before! That wasted a day and a 100 mile drive only for me to end up buying the right stuff in town at NAPA. I tired the stuff I drive 100 miles for and it made it leak faster! I ended up rubbing a bar of soap on it as suggested by some site and it slowed way back down. Then I went to NAPA and when I got back to apply the stuff I ended up getting not what I went for it was dry the soap had stopped it. So I cleaned it with brakleen and stuck it on. 2 hrs later done and I sprayed undercoat on it. They have a kit with fiberglass cloth and painted epoxy at NAPA but the owner told me you have to use the two part clay like stuff (it looks like JB weld with the hardener wrapped around the sealer coated in a plastic skin which you peel off) for wet gas leaks so that is what I did. I guess the other kit is for empty tanks or leaks above the fill point. So the hoses never got changed.
I went for a drive in the heat today and found that the water pump is leaking very bad at the water pipe so that instruction that came with it not to use any lube only water for the O ring was BAD. I always use petroleum jelly on rubber parts that slip together to make sure they do not catch and tear as this one did and it helps seal the in compression fittings like this. The parts store did a damage exchange and gave me the O ring and a gasket out of a different pump. Man that guy was tweaking.
The point of the drive to see if it would still lose power, it did right at 50mph and I'm thinking the loss of coolant and maybe the old brass radiator having a clog could be the source of that extra heat that seems to cause what ever it is that is happening when it loses power to happen.

 

I think it is fixed. I changed the O ring out and took it to wash off the leaked coolant then went on a long drive. It went over 70 without balking and did 60mph+ for 20 miles. I think it is fixed.
So whatever was making it to lose power and lope was caused by a combination of the exhaust being plugged up, the water pump not working at its best, and the balancer belt being broken.
I have never done timing belts before, it was an easy job except for the Haynes manual putting the loosening of the crank shaft sprocket at the wrong place in the steps and not providing any ideas for how to do it.

 

Bad news driving over the big hill cold the motor sputtered and loped again. I slowed down and went over and came back it seemed to improve as it got hotter. I did my errands and stayed at in town speeds. It did fine. When I got home I looked at the O ring and there was a feathery thin piece of it protruding! Instead of removing all the stuff to get at it and change it again I used gasket sealer on it and have let it sit overnight. Now I am going to take it for a drive. I'm debating with myself if it is worth buying Block Check to check for a head gasket leak. If it is the head, there is no obvious signs of it, I can get a new one fully built for $395 plus the core. If it comes to that hopefully my Dakota will be up to the 3 hour round trip drive to get it.

 

I made it half way up the hill just getting to 40mph and it started loping then died. I managed to get it restarted and turn around. It definitely acted like it wasn't getting steady fuel. I have over half of a tank of gas in it. So I will have to use that up staying on the flats and in town to be able to change the hoses near the tank and I will get a new fuel pump. Lets hope that does it.