Engine shut off, no warning

Sounds like a computer problem. It will need to be put on the shop computer and they should be able to tell you what gremlins are lurking

I did a quick search and found several people talking about the PCM fuse blowing in '97-'03 F150's. The common causes seem to be fuel pump related, bad ignition coil(s), or wiring harnesses near the exhaust that melt and cause a short to ground.

I'd start first looking at the power distribution panel in the engine compartment and locate the PCM fuse (or fuses?). If there is a blown fuse then you can start tracking the problem from there.

As a side note, when electrically operated things just quit like this, fuses and shorted wires are the first place to look. A few years ago my buddy had to drive to Arizona to rescue another friend that was snow birding down there. The guys' 2002 F350 with 7.3L had just quit and the local dealership couldn't get it to run. New computer, wiring harness inspection.....on and on with over $1500 spent and no solution. My buddy gets the truck home and finds the PCM fuse blown. He replaces it, the truck starts then dies again...blown fuse again. A little more digging found the fuel heater circuit had shorted out (common on 7.3's) and was blowing the fuse. Just a little time of probing with a multi-meter and diagnosing the symptoms was all that was needed.


KJ

MAP air sensor failure. Download detail code at the auto parts source; usually a free service. --

X2 take that fuwse out,clean it sometimes they get cruded start real simple before you throw money at it and if theres a code auto store will read them free.

Have the system scanned for codes

OP said restarted right away...so not a fuse, unless that is a self resetting fuse/circuit breaker/etc

i would be checking ground circuits for the pcm.

Hi OP here, thanks for the replies.
I guess the consensus here is, it's something electrical.
Well I have had odd issues with my radio. I had XM adapters installed for years and years but discontinued the service and just left the adapters installed until my radio started to have problems. ( going over bumps it would cut out).
I took out all the adapters (you wouldn't believe how much was crammed into the dash cavity).
Now it seems to be working fine with no cutting out.
It's hard for me to believe that something in the radio harness could make the engine cut out but...??
I'm all ears...thanks!
Dozer

Nobody said it was necessarily the radio. It could be anywhere, as there are a lot of wires in a modern pickup truck.

Lots of time since 2003 for insulation to get brittle and crack. Lots of time since 2003 for a mouse to set up housekeeping and nibble on a wire a bit before realizing that their new house makes lots of noise and vibration. Lots of time since 2003 for said vibration to rub a hole through a misplaced wire somewhere.

Happened to me once in my Winnebago Class C on an '06 E-450 chassis driving 60 mph down the interstate. Just that one time. Never happened again. Never found an explanation. I checked everything I could think of and found nothing. I got back in and turned the key, it started right up and ran like a top thereafter. (I traded that RV several years later, but not because of that.)

Easy check is the obvious. The battery cables