I have a 2004 Dodge Dakota SLT (V6) with less than 100,000 miles. This past June,my truck's check engine light came on. Had it towed to the Transmission shop and they replaced the shift solenoid and another solenoid (can't think of the name of the 2nd one). Paid the bill and left to go home. I got 15 miles down the road and once again, check engine light came on was giving me the P700 code. The tranny shop came out and took my truck back to the garage. They told me "the new shift solenoid we put in must be bad,so were going to have to fix it again". Few days later I picked up my truck and once again drove home. I made it home (30 miles away) with no problems. However,since June,I have had this check engine light come on 4 times in less than 6 months (each time,it struggles to get into 3rd gear).It revves up,RPM goes above 2500 and then goes into like limp mode. I noticed while driving around (before it acts up),my RPM gage would go above 1,500 RPM and then drop to 1000 RPM all while at highway speed (50 MPH).

Now I am being told its my Torque Converter that is going bad and the price to repair it is between $2,500 ~ $2,800. Has anyone gone through this many issues with their Dodge Dakotas?

 

A lot of the time, P0700 can be solved by checking the fluid. Being a quart or so low can cause the exact symptoms you're describing. It can't build enough pressure to properly shift, and if it's extreme, sets the pressure sensor code, which you said they changed twice. I've read that unless you put either a Mopar or Borg Warner sensor in it, you're going to have problems. As far as your RPMs dropping to 1k, while holding 50 steady, that's normal, it should be the torque converter clutch engaging like a '5th' shift. The other thing that could cause these symptoms is a bad pump, if it cannot build the proper pressure, shifting will be wonky.

Complete stop on that repair. Go somewhere else immediately. Do not use any sort of large transmission chains like AAMCO, I've heard nothing but horror stories. Choose a mom and pop or dealership. The torque converter is THE most basic repair on a transmission outside of changing the fluid/filter or small things in the valve body that require removing the pan. To change a torque converter literally means pulling the drive shaft, removing the wiring, mount bolts, and pulling the transmission back (or out depending on how much space you have) and sliding the converter off the front and a new one on, no actual transmission disassembly. They cost anywhere between 200~300 for a standard one. By your estimate, you're paying $2,300 in labor... I paid out the door... $1,850 for a COMPLETE REBUILD which included all the hard parts. Gears, intermediate shaft, clutch packs, overdrive unit, labor, all of it, plus ANY rebuild even just soft parts always includes a new torque converter, it's standard practice. Just a torque converter and flush should only cost maybe $500-700 depending on labor cost.

Check your fluid, drive it around ~10 minutes, go home on a level surface, put on the parking brake, leave it in NEUTRAL, and check the fluid level after sitting a minute or two. If it needs fluid, use only ATF+4 mopar or fluid that's been licensed to meet mopar standards. If you look on the back of the bottle, any 3rd party has to list a license number on the bottle meaning it's been tested and approved by mopar to meet atf+4 standards. When checking, ignore any on the sides of the stick and look for when the fluid is solid across, look on the front and back of the stick and use the lowest point as the measure. The face scraping the walls and coating can give you a false reading, always check both sides. Make sure to wipe it completely clean for easier reading.

 

Unfortunately, P0700 only indicates a code is stored.You'd need to scan the transmission for codes.

Skreelink gives you some good tips. It is also possible that the transmission filter, there are two in the 545, are leaking internally causing cavitation.. It can cause pressure problems.

Usually a torque converter would cause a transmission temp problem (clutch slipping).

 

Also, this is what a bad torque converter sounds like from my own truck:

 

Sounds to me like you have a shop that's rather enjoying their time with you. Find a new shop.