Thanks for the suggestion. I checked the oil and smell not even the hint of a gasoline smell.

 

Unsure when the truck last had the spark plugs replaced, and since I have had the truck over five years and have put over 20,000 miles on it, I took to heart your suggestion to check the plugs.
After clearing the top of the engine so I could get to the spark plugs, the first thing I noticed when removing the plugs was that 7 out of the 8 plugs were only finger tight in their holes. My gosh!,
I literally took the ratchet wrench off my extension and could literally turn by hand 7 of the plugs to remove them. Only 1 of the plugs did I have to slightly break lose with wrench in order to get
it started; and even that just took a gently nudge to get it moving. I couldn't believe what I had found.

Other than that plugs all looked the same, the insulators were all nice and white with a small tan colored burn mark near the tip on some of them. Pretty normal looking. The tips were considerably
shorter than the new plugs probably due to age and being worn out. And the gap was just slightly sloppy.
I don't know if only "Finger-Tight" plugs would have anything to do with my problem or not. My shop manual said the torque specs on the plugs should be 20 Ft. Pounds which I found to be pretty
snug when I installed the new plugs.

While I had the top of the engine cleared off, I disconnected every single electrical connector I could see and hosed them down with automotive electrical circuit cleaner and then re-assembled them.
I did this with all of the spark plug connectors where they connected to each plug coil and found three or four connectors that were attached to the throttle body and several others on top of the engine.
My brother who was in the appliance repair business for years told me that electrical connections like spade connectors and such can corrode over time and often times just simply disconnecting the
connector and re-connecting it can scrape away old corrosion and "Presto !"...your back in business again. He has found this to be the case with many appliances. I am hoping that possibly I have
fixed my problem with my truck by disconnecting and cleaning all of these connection.
The last problem I had with my truck was what I thought to be a defective engine starter. Ultimately, I found the problem was only corrosion where the positive battery cable connected to the starter. After
cleaning that up the starter now spins over like a new one.

 

Regarding Mopar sensors....I went to see my buddy Don at my local parts store and asked for Mopar sensors. He asked me why I wanted Mopar sensors and I told him
that I read where people report that they have had problems using aftermarket sensors.
Don, being a Mopar mechanic for over 40 years before retiring and now working part time at a parts store said to me...."Hal, do you actually believe that Mopar has a big
factory somewhere with little green Mopar workers cranking out all the million different parts and sensors they use on their Mopar vehicles? Don went on to explain that Mopar actually makes
very few to none of their own parts. He said the vast majority of the parts that go into a Mopar vehicle are obtained by outsourcing nearly everything from other manufacturers who specialize
in their specific parts. He said the Dodge assembly plants are just that. They only assemble parts that are actually made by other companies.
Don went on to say that it is true that there are many companies out there that make less than quality aftermarket parts. And he said if you are one to insist on paying rock bottom
price on parts then chances are you are going to get an aftermarket part that is being made in somebody's basement in Africa that you will likely have problems with.
Don said that sometimes automobile manufacturers will cut corners and use crappy parts that go bad after a while and often times that aftermarket part will be actually better than the
original part the factory used.
Don also said Ichlen for example is a high quality company that actually specializes in sensors and will reverse engineer sensors creating and even better sensor. Don also said the sensor that is
in the Mopar box that you paid three times the money for Mopar name may have actually came from Ichilin or some other sensor supplier.
He said the companies that specialize in quality automotive sensors sell the same sensor to multiple companies and put the same sensor in numerous different boxes including Mopar.
Don also said that there has been numerous articles printed on this myth that only Mopar parts should be used on Mopar products.
Basically, you get what you pay for. Don't buy the cheapest, but also don't get sucked into paying for the name on the box either.

 

Update,
After replacing the sparkplugs and cleaning all of the electrical connectors on the engine the truck runs like a champ. Much more responsive upon acceleration with a lot more get up and go.
Also, had the truck out for multiple short- run stops and experienced no more warm engine start up stumble, stutter, cough and choke.
Cold or Hot, the truck fires right up and runs like new.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Harkauto

 

Not all parts are created equally. Sure, some parts are sold from the OEM manufacturer to aftermarket companies, to put in their box, and sold at a lower price. They are usually 'seconds' though. They may be only slightly out of spec, but, they are still 'seconds'. A fair few of the aftermarket parts are NOT made by the OEM manufacturer. Aftermarket companies use a similar design, but, they do not always function as well as the original design.

I can't count the number of threads on here, where a member was having issues with some sensor or other, replaced it with an aftermarket part, and had similar, or WORSE issues. Install a new OEM part, and the problems went away. These forums go back years. More than a decade. You will find similar stories throughout. Sure, some aftermarket sensor will work fine. Others, not so much. (Dorman.....) For the most part, mission critical sensors really should be replaced with OEM parts. Cam and crank sensors being right at the top of the list. (I would include IAC valves on there too.) For other, not quite so critical parts, (TPS, ECT, things of that nature) aftermarket is likely fine.

I have been doing the wrench thing for more than 40 years. Granted, not for a living for the last couple decades, but, I still keep my head in the game. Computers/electronics have only gotten MORE complicated as time passes, which makes some of these sensors even MORE critical for proper function of the various systems.

So, if you want to save a few bucks, and buy aftermarket sensors, that is completely up to you. If they work, it's all good. Problem is, more often than not, they don't.

 

That is true for almost all brands. Toyota, Chrysler, Nissan, GM.... you name it. The thing with Mopar is, they adhere to a certain quality standard (no matter who actually makes the part) and you know that what you are getting will work. Besides, if you search hard enough and you can find them at reasonable prices online... sometimes at the same/near prices of the store aftermarkets. Not only will they work, but they will far outlast the knockoffs. So say you change a TPS with aftermarket. Even if it works well, most likely you'll be replacing it in 2 years, whereas the Mopar unit will work and last the rest of the vehicle's life. I'm still on the original fuel pump, starter, PS pump, etc. with 314K.

Will I buy aftermarket on certain things? Hell yes. I can replace a 4.7 alternator with my eyes closed. It's easy and the real deal is super pricey.

 

Dodge is moody with ALL aftermarket sensors ,especially 02,tps,cam,crank,iac,etc.
clean up the IAC also.
I'd put a used oem on it before a aftercrap market sensor..