My 97 Dodge conv. van had the 5.9L and 3.90 gear. it too was a power house and would walk all over an R/T Dakota, granted I did a few bolt on`s like a home made cold air intake with a K&N filter and custom exhaust! the LA engines 3.9, 5.2 and 5.9L engines were unbelievable motors that would run circles around other motors in the same size trucks. they changed the PCM calibrations around 98-99 and it made the engines feel softer and less powerful than they actually were!
Have fun with it! lot`s of available bolt ons for this truck!