I have a '93 Dakota 4X4 5.2L that will be running great and then just die. There is no gradual loss of power. Just running, and then nothing. I usually coast to a stop and then try to restart it without much luck. I can hear the fuel pump running. I have switched out the Auto shutdown relay, fuel pump relay and they both seem to be functioning properly. I replaced the fuel filter. I put new plugs in it. A guy told me maybe the magnetic crank sensor could be bad. Does that sound legite? He also said maybe the coil, or fuel pump. Yesterday, I found the main wire harness melted on the back of the manifold near the firewall. I replaced 6 wires that were damaged. I thought that would fix it, but this morning, I started it right up and it died three more times. I guess it is not fixed. Any thoughts? I have put 2000 miles on the truck in the last 4 months and it has pulled the boat without problems until about 2 weeks ago.

Well if you had 6 wires shorting I'd have to say the pcm or some sensor(s) are damaged. Have you checked for codes?

And also did you try to find out what the wires were for ?

Advance Auto and Auto Zone will pull codes free. Also ask what tests they can do for items in the system.