1984 Dodge Ram wont start

Have you checked to see if you're getting spark at the end of a spark plug wire? If not, the ignition coil is a good suspect. Also check the pickup coil in the distributor. If it is open, you'll only get a single spark from the distributor wire when you turn off the ignition switch. There won't be any spark while cranking the engine.

The first part of your description sounds like a plugged pickup screen in the gas tank, but then you'd see no gas from the carburetor.

I'm voting for the pickup screen in the gas tank. I had one plug up on a '78 LeBaron Wagon, an '80 Volare, and for the second time on my '88 Grand Caravan a couple of months ago. The symptoms are different on my van because it has fuel injection, but your description matches those of my first two cars. That screen collapses and blocks the fuel tube. When you let the truck sit for few minutes, the screen stretches out and will let fuel through again for a mile or two. Those screens used to cost three bucks. By now they might be five dollars.

Dodge was the first manufacturer to use electronic ignition in 1972. Chrysler and Plymouth used the same system in 1973. It was a very simple and reliable system that eliminated the breaker points and the changing ignition timing due to rubbing block wear on the breaker points. AMC had a version earlier but it still used breaker points to trigger the electronic module. They still had the rubbing block wear. We needed to get away from points because as the rubbing block wore down and the point gap changed, or the distributor shaft developed some play, those would cause ignition timing to change a very small amount but that caused slightly increased emissions. Our terribly intelligent politicians couldn't have that! GM and Ford came out with their versions around late '75 or '76. The GM HEI, (high energy ignition), system was also a very nice system but everything was built into the distributor. It was meant to be replaced as a complete assembly by people who didn't yet understand how to diagnose them. GM likes to build assemblies, and they can sell you the whole thing too. Chrysler's system is easy to diagnose, and you just replace the defective part, not the whole thing.

If you want to learn how electronic ignition systems work, get a copy of any '73 or newer Chrysler service manual for a circuit description. It is the easiest one to understand when they used the four or five-pin module. Chrysler was also the first to use a computer to vary ignition timing. A distributor will do that based on engine speed and load, but that's all. The "Lean Burn" computer was the industry's first attempt to adjust timing based on additional factors.

DO NOT TRADE THIS TRUCK FOR A RANGER! You will really be sorry. I can't think of anything I would want to own less. The twin I-beam front suspension is a disaster for tire wear. The Dodge has a much better and more reliable charging system, ignition system, and engine.

I too have never run across any mention of that screen anywhere except in the manufacturer's service manuals. Haynes and Chiltons just cover basic stuff. Professionals rarely use those books.

If you live in an area where '84 models are still a common sight on the road, any auto parts store is going to have those screens in stock. I put one on my '88 Grand Caravan daily driver a few months ago. That one was in stock, and mine is one of very few left in all of Wisconsin due to the unreasonable over-use of road salt.

You have to remove the pickup assembly from the gas tank. That has the sending unit on it too. The pickup is just a long metal tube that extends down to the bottom of the tank. The screen just slides onto the end of that tube. It's brass-colored, about an inch in diameter and about three inches long. You will likely find a picture of it if you search the auto parts stores web sites.

There's a potential way to cheat too, but you didn't hear this from me. You can remove the gas cap, unbolt the supply line going into the fuel pump, then blow compressed air into that line to blow the screen off the pipe. At that point you'll be relying solely on the fuel filter by the fuel pump to collect any debris, but on Chrysler products those rarely become plugged, even over the life of the vehicle. From what I've heard, this doesn't work all the time, but if you suspect that screen is plugged or collapsing, what do you have to lose by trying it?