ya, it made sense, i had an idea of how they worked, but that made in fairly clear, and yes i know od and tc are not the same.

 

i know that overdirve and torque lockup are not the same...however, that switch controls both. (if its a E and not an H)

if that switch didnt control the TCC then it would try to engage while pulling in third gear. since third is a 1:1 ratio, then it would be a perfect scenario for the TCC to lockup at low RPMs.

when you push that button...fourth gear (AKA OD .69:1) and the cluth are both in a sense turned off.

 

what the difference between the 46re, and 46rh?

 

electronic vs hydraulic controlled shifts i do believe

 

+1 on that.

1st number=number of gears 2nd number=torque strength 1st letter=rear wheel drive 2nd letter=hydrolic/electronic

 

ahhh, now the numbers make sense. thanks. but the tq strength, whats the difference in those?

 

2 being the lowest(weakest) and 8 being the highest(strongest)
light duty to heavy duty...V6s got the 42s V6 4x4s got the 44s etc.

 

First let me thank everyone for the help on this. I have no idea what a CEL is. AlabamaRam95 seems to be hitting on something that sounds like my problem for sure. When I drove this beauty home, the "Overdrive Off" light was on, and I pushed the button in the end of the gearshift **** to turn it off, but it would not go off. I called the guy that I had just bought it from, and he said that it seemed like a short in that wiring, and said that if you fiddle with it, it will eventually go off. I did that, and sure enough, it went off. However, it came back on several times after that, and would pop off on it's own, as I was driving, and didn't want to focus my attention on that at the time. It has been off now for a solid 3 weeks or better, and as I think back about it, this could easily line up with the doggy 4th gear issue. The guy I got the truck from rebuilt the engine with his father, and sounds like they did a damned good job, BUT, the minor things, like getting the AC back in order, and attaching the cruise control and such, never seemed to have been done. I wonder if the overdrive issue has something to do with my problem. When you explained the torque converter and how it kicks in dropping the RPMs, that is EXACTLY what is happening, but the power at that point drops so low that the only way to gain any speed over and above the 40 or 45 mph that it's going when the TC kicks in, is to jam on the pedal and it kicks itself back into a lower gear to adjust. None of the other symptoms of a torque converter going bad are happening though, so I'm stumped as to why it's doing this. We have also owned an 02' Durango for about 5 years now, and I'm quite familiar with the torque converter now that you've explained that's what it is (never knew that was what dropped the rpms like that). But in the Durango, it's a very seemless thing, and we still have ample power.
I want to point out that I am as appreciative as anyone you'll find on this forum. I think it's incredible that a guy can get on here and ask for help, AND GET IT! THANKS EVERYBODY!

 

no prob...

it could still be the TC. if the TC locks up but you dont have power and you have to floor it to get it to go...the then the TCC (torque converter clutch) is probably slipping.

check out this pdf. it will help you hook up a manual lockup switch and/or let you know which wire in your harness controls it. if it is a short, then you can trace it down or just replace the wire.

http://www.tstproducts.com/Torque%20...p%20Switch.pdf

i have been running with a manual lockup switch for almost 10 years, this allows me to pull a trailer on the interstate in 4th gear and not worry about lockup. however, if you are going to do this for towing reasons, be sure to have a trans cooler and a temp ga.

 

oh, and by the way, where can i get a fair priced ($10-20) trans temp gauge?