Glad you got it fixed!
Have you changed plugs, Cleaned your TB, or done any kind of a tune up?

 

no, no, and no. If I conclude that I have to keep driving it from $ perspective, I know that all must be done. I have truly just driven it from day 1(albeit conservatively, I do not "beat" on my cars at all). I am wondering at this point if its even worth going thru that stuff, or just trading out of it. Came to the conclusion a number of years ago, that cars are a disposable Item. Previous vehicle was a 95 dakota sport SB 2wheel drive, 5.2, 5-speed manual(why wouldnt they offer that on the 1500 hemi is beyond me.) 3.55LS Had to order from dodge to get that configuration. Paid 13,900 for that vehicle out the door. drove it to about 195000 over 9 years. Over life of vehicle, replaced 2 water pumps, 1 fuel pump, and 1 radiator, and that was it. Never even had a tuneup. Overall was quite happy with the return on money spent. If you followed the maintenance schedule from the owners manual, you would of paid for it twice in maintenance bills over that time and mileage. Replaced it with current truck(04 1500slt 2wheel drive 5.7 3.55LS, again, had to order as dealer could not locate that configuration on a lot anywhere), and have basically taken the same approach. Not saying its the right way, just looking at it from a $ perspective, it does have its merits though. I am not a "car" guy, and really dont like working on them, and could really care less about brand/style per say. Seem to have a special gift of making things worse when I try to improve them, mechanically speaking.

 

Well plugs are 35 dollars and need to be changed every 30,000k , and cleaning your TB is as easy as 5 bucks for a can of starting fluid and 4 8mm bolts. These things need to be done lol, you dont have to beat on your truck for parts to break. So 40 bucks and you WILL have a better running truck, and from a money prespective im 19 not making enough to do crap so a 40 dollar prevenative fix to keep my truck running instead of sitting is fine with me.
These two things alone will restore alot to your truck and prevent you from having to do them when they crap out on you and leave you on the side of the road.

and to add one thing if your looking at this from a money prespective how do you figure a $14,000-$40,000 investment is a disposable item LOL??

 

No doubt maintenance "by the book" will result in a longer lasting vehicle. I would never argue that, or suggest to someones a sucker for doing it. My question is, how much will it impact the longetivity of said vehicle. You could follow the maintenance schedule to the letter and you will still have to repair/replace the rest of the truck around the maintained components. What I factor into it is, how long before a vehicle is obsolete, and how much money will it take to make it reach obsolescence. In the example of my past 2 trucks:
I truly loved driving my 95 dakota(more so than the newer ram, even), however its a no-brainer as to which is a better vehicle. The ram is significantly bigger, more powerful, more refined, and to this point, more reliable, and gets better mileage to boot. The dakota was unbelievably reliable on countless road trips, daily commutes thru downtown chicago traffic for most of its years, and 10's of thousands of miles towing a boat. Stranded me 1 time when fuel pump died on way home from arkansas. 1 night in a motel, and about 270$@a dodge dealer later, and I was on my way home. When it was getting time to re-doe the brakes at 190000k, I asked if it was worth putting money into it, when weighed against what a newer vehicle offered. Believe me, I didnt want to buy another vehicle, it was just time. It, at that time, became disposable, and I truthfully had no complaints about that, I feel I got my $ worth out of it(13900$ for 195k miles with minimal $ put into maintaining/repairing) sold it for 950$. Felt good enough about it to buy another dodge truck. Had I "taken care" of it, did the "scheduled" maintenance, what could I have sold it for? Maybe 2000-2500$? The scheduled maintenance alone, to that point would have cost me much more than that. While I do not do the scheduled maintenance routine, I also do not let obvious problems fester. If I know something needs attention, I get it dealt with in the cheapest way possible, before it gets me stranded on the side of the road. I dont really agree with the idea that a vehicle is an investment(unless it is directly integral to your livelihood). I think of it more as a staple of life. A vehicle is actually 1 of the worst investments youll ever make in terms of $, no matter how good of care you take of it. Does nothing but decrease in value from the moment you drive it off the lot. I personally dont like to invest in things that as a rule lose value, or continue to throw money at a losing investment. I consider it more of disposable item, that can and will eventually be worth next to nothing(whether its during my ownership or not). I am more concerned with how long it will serve the purpose, before its unjustifiable to keep spending to make it do so. While I would hope to get another year or 2 out my 2004, its already pretty dated compared to whats available now. In other words, the new technology, advancements make the old disposable. As I said before, I am not a "car" guy, and have no emotional attachment to what I drive. Its all about $ to me. Dont really care who makes it, or even what it looks like, for that matter. All I care about is the use I get out of it vs dollars spent to keep it useful. Im 40, and have owned a few trucks over the years. Learned long ago not to become emotional, or attached to any of them, as they will all someday end up in a scrap heap anyway. I really dont want to be driving my 04 in 2020, as I'm sure the cars then will be far superior to what was available in 04. With that being said If I could get 10 good years and 200Kmiles out of it, without dumping cash along the way, Ill be pretty satisfied, and put the money that would of been spent following the maintenance schedule towards a far superior vehicle.

That its what I was getting at by the term "disposable".

And yes, I am going to change the plugs, cap, rotor, and do a trans&coolant flush in the next week!

 

Good your truck will thank you.