New member here. Thanks TDR and all the great posts[/COLOR] for the valuable help . My daughter and I had just purchased a 1998 2500 Diesel and were experiencing some difficulty when shifting gears . Through viewing your great post I realized there was a good chance it was the pilot bearing that was the culprit . I got a few strange looks / comments when I told a few folks that I was pulling the transmissions to check out the pilot bearing . When I did pull the trany my suspicions were correct . The pilot bearing was beat to death . Now ( I hope ) for a small out-lay of cash ( and my labour) I'll have the truck back on the road. Thanks everyone again.