it seems to shift too early at times and then the engine vibrates until it gets to speed. how would i adjust it.

 

if the trans is in good shape. the fix for you might be adjust ing the cable that goes from the throttle bode to the trans. it might be on the pass side of the throttle body. in general if the cable pulls more than before when the throttle is opened it will shift higher. very low shift points will allso make some of pressures to low to work right. i have a 01 dak 3.9 V6 42 trans i have NOT made these adjustments on this trans. i think yours is like mine. but i did experiment a lot on a 1965 413, 727 but the linkage is totally different.

 

would i have to take off the plastic overtop of the tb so get to the cable? all i see is the tb cable and the cruise cable but no tv cable. i just took a quick look and will investigate more tomorrow.

 

I think this might be electronically controlled.
And to control that, you need a superchips programmer.
Sounds more like to me that you're low on transmission fluid, or have a torque converter going out. I could be wrong, but now I'm going to check out my throttle body tomorrow.

 

Trans is electronic. Only way to adjust shift points is with a programmer. Yours sounds like a transmission problem though. Check the fluid and also disconnect the battery for an hour or so to reset the PCM.

 

well hopefully its not a tranny problem even though my local salvage yard has many with a good warranty for only 600. i have my front drive shaft that is going bad the cv going in the transfer case is almost gone and it causes vibration and whines at speeds. maybe the extra pressure on shifting gear is whats causing it idk. im getting the part sometimes this week, if not ill have to bring it to a tranny shop.its the awd dakota

 

I hope you are not running your truck in 4WD, there is no all-wheel drive 2005 Dakota. 4WD is for slick surfaces only (snow, mud, etc...).

 

nope its awd. the settings it has is AWD, 4lock and 4 low. technically its not a true awd, its on demand awd. but the shaft spins at all times.
https://i.imgur.com/PHaD60h.jpg

 

Sorry, I had no idea there was an AWD Dakota!