Tried Techron first.

Larry Widmer recommended Regane, so I tried that and after a tank it did seem to reduce pinging at full throttle on hot summer days.

Read testimonials on Yamaha Ringfree, and it also seemed to work, although it is the most expensive.

I don't believe I'm going to invest in one of the injector cleaning systems at this point in my life.

I do believe I'm going to start with the add to you gas tank cleaners, maybe a couple back to back to see if that makes a difference. Might be a waste of time and money, but I did one tank full and then 3-4 months later another and both seemed to help for a while. Right now the truck is just seeing about 100 miles a week, but when the weather breaks, those miles tend to add up a lot faster. The truck will be going out of town at some point in the next week or so, where we will put 150 miles on it in a day. The in tank cleaner before that day trip and another one after should make a difference if its going to help. I've seen a top 10 list of in tank injection cleaners for 2023 and the going rate is around $15-$18 a treatment. I've waisted more then $30 or other dumb stuff, so what the heck. This might actually help.

The next step will be to replace the injectors.

Thank you guys for the info.

I think I know the reason your not going with the usual aftermarket replacements but I just need to ask? Are they all poor quality?
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,1996,dakota,5.2l+v8,1087679,fuel+&+air,fuel+injector,6224

Think price!
Rock Auto has the same pricing as my local auto parts stores (my local stores would have to order a set of 8) @ just over $60 each, then add shipping at RA. I can buy new upgrades replacement sets of 8 for $350 a set, with free shipping, and remanufactured in the $200- $260 range (with a "lifetime" warrantee, what ever that is suppose to cover), with free shipping. I don't mind giving my local stores a bit extra, its nice having them here, but double the price is a bit excessive.

Understood. I assumed in this instance that RA was less $$ than the local stores. Before I buy parts I compare Napa, O Reilly's, Auto Zone and Advance to Rock Auto. Sometimes the local stores are better value.

Yes, I do that as well. Once I get a manufacturers part number I do an on line search for that part number. It is amazing how much price spread some parts have over the different outlets.

I watched one of those how to U tube video on changing his injectors and the guy gave the part number of the injectors he used. The same factory part number had a price range between $70 for a set of 8, up to $300+ per each! Then there were the rebuilt ones that had another wide price range. In my head, I automatically throw out the lowest priced and the highest priced parts figuring both are some sort of con job. From there its choosing the easiest places to buy from, with the best reviews. Then ask here for input. The last thing is to spin the wheel and take the chance, wait a bit longer, or pass completely.

One other bit of fuel injector trivia.

A team of engineers at EPA Lab at RTP wanted to convert a VW diesel over to run on methanol without changing the compression ratio.
They reported that they tested several makes of fuel injectors and chose the Holley 12 hole as the best at atomizing the fuel.

https://archive.epa.gov/otaq/technology/web/pdf/sae-2002-01-2743-v2.pdf

sample quote

At least four different types of port fuel injectors were evaluated for measured engine brake thermal efficiency as well as spray characteristics with methanol, verified with high-speed planar laser imaging. The best- atomizing injectors among the group were racing-style, 36 lb/hr, 12-hole port fuel injectors manufactured by Holley, operating at 4 bar rail pressure. For best startup and transient performance, the injector tip was targeted at the back of the intake valve, from a distance of approximately 80 mm.

end quote

A buddy and I picked up a used CT-150 injector cleaner. Haven't used it yet, but it looks like it should work alright.

On last Friday we took the truck to Rockford. I had picked up a bottle of the top rated Chevron in tank fuel injection cleaner ($16.18 with tax) and filled up the truck just after we left town (10 miles from home, a long the way, the same gas was $.30 a gallon cheaper away from home) and added the injector cleaner before the fill. I have somewhere near 160 miles on that tank of gas, so I will pick up another bottle of the Chevron injector cleaner and add it before I fill up the truck, probably tomorrow.

I put plugs, cap, rotor, and wires on the motor a few months ago The O2 sensor is only about a year old. We pulled for codes about a month ago and nothing showed up (early OBD2 system) At times the truck stumbled a bit, like it was running lean, but other times it acted like it was running rich. When the motor is about 1/2 warmed up, it will die at traffic lights because of a low idle rpm. When its cold its OK, and once fully warmed up its OK. Gas mileage is all over the map, but it definitely gets better mileage on the open highway between 65 and 75 (in the 17-19 mpg range, its a 4x4 with a 5.2, 46re trans and 3:55 gears. Around town the mileage range is around13 mpg when its warm, and as low as 10 (or less) mpg in cold weather. Nothing about this truck is aerodynamic. That 1st bottle of injector cleaner appears to have reduced the stumble a lot, and most of the running rich, it has not appeared to help with the dying when 1/2 warm. There really has not been enough miles to make an honest determination if the cleaner is going to have lasting effect or not, at this point. That 2nd bottle is to assure at least the injectors are as clean as the additive will make it. I can live with the current gas mileage, if the stumble, the rich conditions, and the dying at 1/2 warmed up are gone.

It was my “seat of the pants” feeling that Chevron Techron makes my 1995 5.9V8 run better.

Gumout Regane,
Yamaha Ringfree
and BMW dealer sold Ventril Sauber (in German Ventril Sauber translates to “Valve Cleaner”)
also had a seat of the pants improved feel.

Texas Lubricants used to sell a “Fuel Conditioner” that had an
Amazing-to-Me ability to make the idle silky smooth.

The idle also got smoother at 260 degree F coolant temperature.

The flat piston crowns of your 5.2 probably build up a thinner layer of carbon soot than the “soapdish cavity” of a 5.9V8 piston does.

Well, I am about 140 miles (mostly highway) into the second tank in a row with the Chevron injector cleaner added in. Both tanks full were mostly highway, which they suggest for the best cleaning, so the current injectors are probably about as clean as they are going to be.

I would love to report how things are going, but the outside temps have been in the mid to upper 40s all week (it is 55 degrees at 2:30 pm on Feb 8)), so I really don't know if the improvement I feel is because of the warmer temps or the injector cleaner. We are suppose to get back into the low 30s for highs towards Sat for a week or so. Maybe I will have something to report then.