Ok, I have an 07 Ram 1500, reg cab, short bed, 4.7 (non flex fuel), 6 speed manual, 4x4. My bed is shot so I got another one where I work. Before I put it on I want to clean up the frame and get some paint on it.

I had a nice day to work on it so I pulled it from its slumber beside the garage and backed it into my driveway. I removed all the bolts, unbolted the fuel filler from the bed, removed the taillights and the ground from the cab to the bed. I drove it around to the back yard and flipped the bed off over the side. When I got back in it wouldn't do anything when I turned the key. The dash lights came on but that's it. No click from the starter...nothing. Figuring it could be the batter since the truck had set for a short while I charged it overnight. Next day, nothing. Took the battery in and had it load tested. It's good. They suggested the starter. Hooked battery back up, tapped on the starter with a hammer. Nothing. I work at a salvage yard so I got a used starter and put it on. Nothing. Thinking that I could have gotten a faulty one I took it in to Autozone and they tested it. It works. Did some research and found that the ignition switch could cause the problem. Replaced that with a new one from NAPA. Nothing. Watched videos on Youtube. Common problem seems to be a badly corroded 3rd pin on one of the connectors on the TIPM. Pulled mine out. Nothing. They all look fine. Pulled the TIPM out and tore it apart. Circuit boards look fine with no corrosion or discoloring. Metered all the fuses to assure that there wasn't a visually fine but still defective one. All were good. Tried jumping a wire from the positive terminal to the one wire plug to the solenoid of the starter while turning the key as someone had suggested on the forum. Nothing. Also replaced the fuel pump because it didn't sound like it was running and when I removed the fuel line from it and turned it on it didn't pump any fuel. Still nothing.

I'm at my wits end. I've had the truck for 11 years and I love it. It has 110K miles on it. All I did was flip the bed off of it. I don't see any wires or harnesses that may have been damaged during that process. There is a recall on the clutch switch. Mine is faulty. It will start without pushing in the clutch. (Well, it did before this happened) I never had it fixed because I like being able to start it without climbing into it on those cold mornings to warm it up. Just kick it out of gear and turn the key.

I need some expert advice on this. What suggestions do you all have?

 

I think I may have it figured out courtesy of a reply on a Facebook page. He suggested I hook a jumper cable from the negative battery terminal to a solid spot on the block. Turns out I have a bad engine ground. My battery is down enough now though that it won't crank the engine so it's on charge. Hopefully tomorrow will be great news.

 

That's a rusty frame right there. I'd assume that all of your grounds are bad. You could clean up your grounds while your battery is disconnected. Clean grounds will help eliminate a lot of confusing electrical issues in the future. Be sure to re-connect the ground at your gas filler when you put the new bed on.
Consider treating the rust on your frame and diff/axle while you have the bed off.

 

That's what I was planning on doing. I'm going to swap out the rear shocks too while they're easy to get to. Yep, good ole Pennsylvania road salt.