What ever happened to the manual trans? I miss being able to walk up to a truck and it damn near always being stick shift. I want to get a pickup with the full front and rear row bench seats with the manual trans. Do I have to look for the cummins engine in it to find one?

 

Pretty much. There were a few very rare manual transmission available with certain 4.7L V8s in the 3rd Gens, but other than that...

I'll move to the 3rd gen General Discussion section for you.

 

Yep, I don't think the 4.7L is available with a stick in a QuadCab any more, only with a Cummins.
The demand is just not there to justify the extra cost of tooling and such it install them at the factory.

 

my 99 dakota is manual, when i was looking for a truck a year ago i only wanted a truck with a v8 and manual. i found a couple of rams that were manual as well (90s)

 

My 05 regular cab 4.7 is a 6 speed manual. I didn't even know they made manual transmission trucks anymore until I got lucky and stumbled upon mine at the dealer. I test drove it and fell in love. Couldn't imagine going back to an auto although I know by the time I'm ready to start looking for a new truck I'm sure manuals will be non existant.