Been having to prime before i start my truck. Worse when she is cold but even in 70f weather I have to prime. If I don't she will turn over and run for a few seconds then die, after that I have to crank and pump the pedal at least three cycles to get her to run. Even then I have to get the RPMs up over 1500 otherwise she dies.
Any ideas would be appreciated, new to diesels, any info on more detail as far as how they work and upgrades would be helpful also, thanks.

 

You have a VERY common issue, you are losing prime on the fuel system. It can be anything from rotted fuel module lines at the tank to cracked hoses or rotted fuel lines along the frame, to a leaky fuel heater. You don't indicate your relative location, so I can't rule out the fuel module or rusty lines ( you would not likely see this in Cali or Arizona for example ).

What I always do, since I am in the rust belt, is first feel up the module hard lines, if I feel scale on them, I figure that's where to start, so I either drop the tank, or raise the bed to get to them. From there, unless the lines along the frame are really good, I just replace everything from the tank to the engine with diesel rated hose or better, one of our members, Infidel has used a brand called Trident marine hose with great success. I don't play around, replace both supply ( 3/8" ) and return ( 5/16" ) while I am in there. As for the module lines rotted, if they are, you can either get a remanned module from Dodge ( they changed from steel to plastic ) or you can go to Vulcan performance and get a draw straw kit and just replace the lines.

That is LIKELY where your issue is, if that doesn't do it, you didn't really lose anything, because it was going to bite you soon anyway.

Look things over and get back to us as to the relative condition of your lines.

 

This is an old write up but still pretty good. Nice to have on hand for reference.

http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/94...m-writeup.html