Hi there, New here but have a question. My 95 Ram Van, 2500 V8, 318.....started acting funny about a month ago. Engine starting shaking at around 55 mph. Gave it a tune up, new plugs, wires, cap, air filter. Seemed to run fine for about 2 days then started again. My husband took it to a friend of his who cleaned off something, not sure what, (maybe fuel injectors), ran fine for about a week. Now it is running horrible! Cannot get up past 40mph without it sputtering and backfiring. Uphill I'm lucky to get up to 30 mph. It shakes and backfires when I try to accelerate. I ran a turn key test, all I got was 55 for end of codes. Check Engine light never comes on. One person I talked to said that it sounded like the fuel pump, which seems to make sense to me now. I think that the times that it was running good is when I had a full tank of gas. Another person looked at it and thinks that it is electrical. But nothing is showing up on the tests. I really need to get this thing running, I am a mother of 7 kids and I am their transportation to and from school. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

The fact that it ran better with a full tank gives credence to the problem being the fuel pump. The fuel in the tank acts like a big heat sink and keeps the pump running cool. When the tank is down to a 1/2 or less, the pump is exposed so it runs hotter and acts up.

Taking a quick drive with a fuel pressure gauge hooked up should confirm if the pump is the problem.