I swapped a 5.2 out of a 99 Durango auto into a 98 3.9 Dakota 5 speed. I used the Durango PCM at first and it started up and ran for a few seconds then quit and wouldn't fire the injectors, only codes I got were for the transmission solenoid and range sensor which is to be expected since it is a manual. I plugged the V6 PCM in and it started up and ran, just not very well since it is only firing 6 injectors. I can get a PCM for a 98 5.2 Auto Dakota will that run it, I am thinking the Durango had a chip key which is why it wouldn't run in the Dakota.

A computer programmed for a V-6 is going to get seriously confused on a V-8. Crank sensor return signal is different.... so it gets confused right quick. You should be able to have your original PCM flashed for the bigger motor..... PCM is the same, programming is different. Did you swap the wire harness as well? Gotta have those two additional connectors for the injectors.

Yes, I know the V6 PCM isn't going to run it that well, and I don't want to use it because it is going bad anyway. I didn't swap the wiring harness, I just added the two injector wires.

That works too. As that is pretty much the ONLY difference.

Chip keys weren't a thing in 98/99 to my knowledge. But i cant think of what else that would cause that situation.

Will any 97-99 5.2 Dakota manual PCM work? Also I am seeing several on Ebay for sale that say they need to be programmed, what would need to be programmed on them for it to work? I have swapped Chrysler PCMs on Jeep 4.0s and 2nd gen Rams and they have all worked fine without being programmed.

If the Daks are anything like the trucks, (and this is a wild guess) ONLY 96 or 97 PCM will work, and it won't need programmed. At least, it shouldn't......

I don't think they are like the Ram trucks. The Dakotas got updated in 97 and nothing really changed in 98 or 99. Unlike the Ram that got OBD2 in 96 then completely changed the dash, interior cluster, and many controls in 98.

That's entirely possible too... I just don't know.

IIRC 96 is OBD1, 97 is a special OBD2 transition, 98/99 are the same