1998 Dodge Dakota
3.9L V6 Auto RC
Cranks, no start, no codes.

Got a lovely strong crank, no start condition... At work, pulled my truck around the building to clock out and when I stopped it sputtered a bit, RPMs dropped to ~200 for about 5-10 seconds and died. After that, no start. Turning the key off and back on after sitting, I don't think I hear the fuel pump... grand. Fuel gauge still works, however.

Tested:
Swapped horn relay with fuel pump relay.
Swapped horn relay with ASD relay
Swapped PCM (had a spare from testing years ago)

No change, I haven't tested spark, but I'm leaning towards fuel as I do not hear the fuel pump (I always listen for it to stop running before trying to start the truck, so I noticed that right off). Before I leap into trying to destroy the bolts in my bed to get at the fuel pump, what are some things that would shutdown/prevent the pump from running? On some searching, people say the cam sensor in the distributor, but wouldn't that cut fuel AFTER trying to start (with loss of signal) and set a code after a couple times? Is there a way to verify power to the fuel pump wires from say, the engine bay? If not, anyone have an illustration of where the fuel pump wires run and ground locations?

EDIT: Co-worker had a can of starting fluid, after a shot of it fired right up, ran for about 10 seconds until it ran out of starting fluid, died... So definitely fuel delivery.

 

If you don't hear the fuel pump, then it's likely dead. Carter, Delphi and Denso make decent pumps. You can also get a Mopar, but they run twice as much as the other three.

 

Yeah, even tried to jumper the relay and it didn't come on. So it's either dead, or a wiring issue just jumped up. Least it happened while still in the parking lot at work and not going down the road, so I didn't have to tow it anywhere.

 

x2 on fuel pump. Keep in mind the ASD relay feeds the FP relay, so you have to jumper both to get power iirc. But if it ran off a bottle, then it's definitely FP as I wouldnt expect injector kill to take that long.

 

Yep... Took the bed off and tested the wires. Good continuity from both grounds to frame, 5v for sensor, 12v on pump... Wish I had the extra cash to do rear shocks while the bed is off.

 

Update: Holy crap it's light without the bed on it. I doubt the new pump made that much difference, but anything over a nudge on the gas pedal and it's spinning tires. It became the ultimate fun machine! ...Until I load it back up with the bed and all anyway. Back to utility for it.
Also noted I recall it had 3/8 tank of gas, with the new pump, it says 1/2 .... I do hope that doesn't mean anything bad.