Ok here it is.....bought 1996 ram 1500 used and had it a few weeks and it wouldnt stay running so after several trouble codes and replaced MAP sensor TPS sensor Coolant sensor and another sensor i cant remember the truck ran fine for almost 10 months and now it is doing almost the same thing ( acting like it is fuel starved ) so with no trouble codes this time I did the worst chore in truckdom .....changed the fuel pump LOL and after the test drive it was running like a cat with its tail on fire, until my wife said take me for a ride I want to see how its running.......soooooo after a block or two from my house all hell broke loose and it started doing the same thing acting like it was fuel starved, so now i just cant figure why its doing this. Anybody have an idea or two before I'm forced to put it in a shop.

 

switch out the fuel pump relay and see if that helps

 

I'm not sure. But it doesn't sound too funny to me. You must have one weird sense of humor.

 

Well your first problem is you let your wife in the truck

 

How many miles on your truck ?. If the 02 sensors are original with lots of miles on them, then there probably bad.

 

well the oxygen sensors do have 226k on them and have not been changed to my knowledge but gas mileage has been doing OK. but I did notice that it smelled like sulfur when it happened and the CAT has been replaced about 6 months ago due to the plenum plate leaking and sucking oil

 

Unplug the upstream O2 sensor and see if the problem is still there. This will cause the truck to run rich due to no input from the sensor, but if the front O2 is bad, the truck should run fine with it unplugged. A bad upstream O2 will cause the truck to start spitting and sputtering and act like it's getting no fuel...does the problem first appear 1-2 mins after initial start up?

If the problem still exists with the front O2 unplugged, try removing it from the pipe altogether. That will show if you have a defective cat or not.

 

OK I unplugged the Upstream O2 sensor and it did run ok. i drove it around for about 10 mins until the engine warmed up but it does act just a little laggish but at least it runs and I now have something to go on. Thanks for everybody"s help and I'll let you know how its running with the O2 sensor replaced. also do you think i should replace the downstream sensor as well ?

 

With 226K miles on the 02 sensors, it would be a good idea to replace both. Don`t buy Bosch 02 sensors, they don`t work well in our trucks. Get NTK 02 sensors.

 

+1...might as well replace them both. You can order the sensors from rock auto and get better prices. Hopefully you won't end up like me and round off the upstream o2 sensor in the pipe and have to replace the whole cat....oh well, was a good excuse to put a stainless high flow one in there