I picked up a 99 Ram 1500 knowing I would be working on it. After driving it around i noticed that the kickdown cable was not connected to the transmission, i hooked it up and set up the right timing for it to engage. Now it seems to being engaging at the right time, but when it is engaging im popping in at 3-3800 Rpm with basically no power. If im going up even a slight incline it struggles to accelerate, and cannot maintain speed on larger inclines and the engine begins to heat up. As soon as i get up the hill or shift out of the kickdown the engine cools down pretty immediately. I have some transmission experience with a 99 durango i own, but have no experience with the kickdown. Driving on flat ground you wouldn't even know there was an issue, unless you put the pedal to the floor. Any help or suggestions on where to start would be much appreciated.

 

I would more suspect the cat was getting plugged up.

 

Ive thought about this, but the the truck passed emissions with no issues a few months ago, and has not thrown a single code in my time owning it and hasnt had any issues other wise that i would generally associate with a bad cat. I might try to throw a temp gun on it and check it, but the issue is only occurring when the kick down gear is engaged, otherwise performance and power do not seem to be a noticeable issue.