Alright, makes this as brief as possible. My PCM/ECM went out on my 1996 ram, and my brother has a 1997 dodge ram with the same motor except his was a 2WD. So I took the PCM/ECM out of his truck and put it in mine, now my truck misfires and doesn't have power when driving it, but will idle fine till 2500 RPM. Are these computers year and drive train specific? or is it cause I have this ghetto straight pipe for an exhaust throwing O2 sensors off ?

 

Unplug the O2 sensor, and see if it runs better. 97 PCM shouldn't be different than the 96, major changes came in 98.

 

Alright ill try that. If I get the actual PCM with matching numbers from another truck, do I need to reprogram that one? Cause the 97 PCM I put in my truck has different numbers.

 

Just a software update, or various other minor differences. If the PCM comes from a truck that had the same size engine, and same trans, nothing else to worry about. 96-97 PCM's didn't care about the VIN for the ABS, or Air Bag. (I think..... if those lights come on though, you will have to get the PCM flashed to the correct VIN)