1996 Dodge Ram EGR valve and blow by

If there was an EGR valve used on that engine, you'll see it shown on the emissions sticker under the hood. It will have a black plastic disc on top of it with a vacuum hose and a two-wire connector.

Excessive pressure in the valve cover is caused by blowby past the piston rings. A cylinder leakage test will confirm that. A compression test will show if the compression is low. A cylinder leakage test will show why it's low. Many auto parts stores that rent or borrow tools will have a cylinder leakage tester. You need compressed air to run it.

There was a common problem in the '90s with the oil pressure sending units reading low intermittently when they got warm. Use a mechanical oil pressure gauge to see exactly what the pressure is. If it starts to go down, the oil pump pickup screen could be clogged or the oil is the wrong viscosity. Use a thicker oil at the next oil change. It's unlikely the bearings are worn because the pressure would have been low after idling for two hours.

I dont think that either a piston is bad or the rings are out, compression is good and it has blow by on every cylinder.

Amberpetitt93

? Compression is good and it has blowby, but the piston rings are good. Where do you suppose blowby comes from?

Sorry I missed your comment about not idling. I assume that means the engine stalls unless you hold the gas pedal down 1/4". That has a real easy fix. Go out and drive it at highway speed with the engine warmed up, then coast for at least seven seconds without touching any pedals. That will trigger the relearn of "minimum throttle". Once that is learned, the Engine Computer will know when it has to be in control of idle speed. That is lost from memory whenever the battery is disconnected.

Sorry too to leave you hanging for so long. I'm fighting a dying computer that is on its last legs.