First off, this forum is awesome, the people are very knowledgeable.
I have a 98 ram 1500 sport 4x4 with 168435 miles on it. all was stock when i bought it a month ago. One day i was driving and the truck stuttered and rpm dropped and it started a "popping" noise. It sounded like from maybe the cat or oil pan area. So i started reading and researching. im well mechanically inclined so i can do the work.I noticed oil in the plenum thinkin the gasket was bad. I bought a gasket set and changed head gaskets,plenum gasket,intake manifold.etc. All the top end gaskets.
On top of that i put a brand new accel tune up kit.Plugs,wires,rotor,cap.coil.
and it still is "popping".
My cat has been hollowed out,all gaskets have been changed, a decent tune up kit.
All fluids are new and at the proper level.
I did though notice the oil pressure has started dropping either directly before or after the "popping".
Right after i bought the truck i dropped the oil pan,cleaned it out well, cleaned the pick up screen and put a new oil pump on it...
I dont know if the oil pressure has anything to do with the popping or just coincidence... i need help though.

I have very limited time due to working 7 days a week in the hay fields, so i may have over looked something . Any and all tips, advice, anything would be helpful

 

First off. Good for you for searching. Seriously.

Second, I'm not sure what you mean by popping. Can you get a vid of it?

Third, IIRC, Accel coils have caused problems for others.

 

+1 on the searching . Lose the accel coil and install new NTK or Denso o2 sensor's. Disconnect negative battery cable before doing so. Give that a try and see if it's any better.

 

i can try to get a video, but it only does it while driving under acceleration at random intervals. And it is somewhat quiet, i can only hear it with the windows up and radio off.
My best description Kejobe of the the noise would be a thin piece of metal ie* oil pan,maybe cat, dust plate at back of oil pan flexing under pressure maybe and causing it to make that noise. You know the sound you get when you take a thin piece of metal and hold it by the edges and flex it in the middle you get kinda the "pop".

As to do with my coil, would it be ok to run the stock one with the cap and new wires and plugs? I did upgrade the wires to 8mm

I went a pulled my o2 sensors out..and the both of them are pretty fouled up and black on the end...might be a good start

 

Have a look at the various heat shields under the truck. See if any of the welds have broken.

Stock coil will be fine.

 

If your cat is hollowed, you might not have it welded back in properly and it might be leaking.

 

well i finally got a little time to look it over again. All my heat shields seem to be intact and fine. i didnt do the exhaust work, the previous owner did, but i checked for leaks anyways. The only leak in the exhaust is about 3ft after the cat where there is a coupling.and im positive thats not where the noise is coming from.
Also, after driving many of miles this morning...the "pop" hasnt happened at all. Still very sluggish under acceleration though.

 

well i found out why i have no oil pressure and know what the "pop"noise is.
I dropped my oil pan today to see if maybe the pickup screen was clogged or maybe the bushing for the oil pump driveshaft was bad. and upon taking off my oil pump itself, i realized there is an extra hole from where part of the cast behind the oil pump is missing.There for the oil is escaping through that hole and not having enough oil pressure. The hole leads to i think the rear camshaft bearing,.

I have another engine block thats in the shop right now. they are holding it for me till i can scrape up enough to buy the complete rebuild kit(because that engine was worn smack out)

I dont know what to do. i could probably run it like that because if i mash the gas hard enough the oil pressure is good. but i dont want to do that. i need something to get me through the work week so i can start shelling out the cash for a rebuild.
Does anyone know of any epoxy or anything that i might be able to use for now to try and seal it...? I know its not the best idea, but i need something to get me threw the week

 

Not sure I understand where the hole is. Is it on the pump itself? If so, just replace the pump. They are not that expensive.

Can you post a photo?