ive been reading and hearing about adjusting the timing and getting horspower out of it.

how hard is it to do and how exactly does it work?

would i be able to do it myself on a weekend or do i have to take it to a shop?

 

you can do it yourself with timing tools... around $230 through snap-on. but if you do your own and a few others they pay for theirself over time and you can expirament with different timing settings. advanced timing helps your upper rpm power and egts come down considerably.

 

Timing instructions http://dodgeram.info/tsb/1994/18-10-94a.htm

For most people it's not worth the tool investment if you're just doing your own truck.
Just make sure if someone else does it that they use the method in the link above. Many shops will say they know how to advance the timing but really don't have a clue on the correct procedure.
Don't be surprised if Cummins or the dealer refuses to change your timing, it's against EPA regulations to change it from stock.