my oil temp gauge keeps dropping down to 0 every time i slow down below 30mph. but the second i put my foot on the gas it jumps back up to the half way mark??? do you think this could just by an electrical issuse?

 

You have a factory oil temp gauge? Do you mean water temp or oil pressure? If you meant oil pressure this is a common indicator that the sender is going bad.

 

And since we don't know what year, how many miles or past history of maintenance, I'll throw in the fact, that it could also be the oil pump, oil pump screen is clogged , or the bearings are worn, if this happens only after it's up to operating temp.

 

Try the cheap thing first, change the sensor and see what happens. It that doesn't help, then you have to dig deeper, and spend more money.

 

oh. my bad you guys. its a 98 1500 5.7 with 187xxx and its the oil pressure gauge. and as far as history, i just got it a month ago and only changed the oil once

 

So does it do this right off the bat or after it's good and warmed up?

 

i'd say after its warm..

 

Could still be the sender. Start with the simple fix first.

 

Could also be the screen on the pick up tube partially blocked. Not knowing the history, it would be money well spend to drop the pan and replace the tube and/or oil pump at the same time. It is not a big deal or very expensive. It is not uncommon for the screens to get blocked if the previous owners didn't do regular oil changes.

 

Post #3, although I do agree with changing the sending unit first. And just so you know, it's under the distributor. And you thought changing the cap was a pita,