So, I have had this truck for 16yrs. It is a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 4.7 liter flex fuel 2WD. It has literally been the best vehicle that I have ever owned, and I would really like to keep her for a couple more years, and then give it to my nephew. Anyways, a couple of weeks ago the RPMs started running pretty high, when I start it up in the morning. Also, I noticed when I come to a complete stop that it feels like the transmission stutters. That said, I drove her pretty hard this past weekend and then ran her through the car wash. So when I was drying her off, I've always been able to take the key out of the ignition and it stays running, but when I go to drive it again, I put it back in, before I take off. So this time when I started driving about 3/4 of the way home it started to really have a tough time shifting out of second gear. I got her home and parked and that's when I noticed that the key was not in the ignition, so I put it back in and shut her down. When I tried starting her in the morning it wouldn't start, all it does is constantly turn over. Funny thing about this is, I got it towed to my mechanic and he was able to get it started by spraying some starting fluid in the throttle body and it started right up and I was able to drive it home. It didn't run great but it ran surprisingly good, but as soon as you turn it off, it won't start again unless I spray the starting fluid in the throttle body again. I know this was long winded, but does anyone have an experience with this problem, or have any idea what this problem could be caused by? The mechanic has a feeling that the TICM has a short and probably needs to be replaced. What say you guys?

 

Check fuel pressure.

 

Mechanic checked the fuel pump and the pressure, all is working properly.

 

Could a key fob malfunction create this type of problem? The key that I have is old AF and I have literally glued it back together multiple times. There was a time that the fob broke away from the key itself and I tried to start it with the just the key and it ran for a couple seconds, but very rough and then wouldn't start at all. Maybe the fob is bad and wont let it start, but it doesn't explain the starting fluid, to get it running.

 

If it starts and runs, and runs decent, with starting fluid, you have a fuel delivery problem..... If pressure is good, gotta be something somewhere else in the chain.

 

I'd wanna see some injector pulse waveforms next.

 

I'm not quite sure what that means, when you say it's gotta be something else in the chain. Could this be a TIPM problem, I'm having a tough time understanding how spraying starting fluid in the throttle body can get the truck running and keep it going. I mentioned in a earlier post that the mechanic said the fuel pump is working and the fuel pressure is fine, but I cannot hear the pump running at all, when I turn the key.

 

Some pumps are louder than others, if you have good fuel pressure, the pump is working, whether you can hear it or not. I can't hear the pump in my 98.... at all.....

If all the truck needs is a bit of 'help' to get started, and runs fine thereafter, that would imply it isn't getting enough fuel at startup to get a combustible mixture. Could be the coolant temp sensor reading wrong, or IAT sensor, or even the MAP..... Gonna need to plug in with a scanner, and see what the PCM thinks is going on at cold start.