Fast240Z

yeah, since my Z is currently out of commission, I am driving around my father's extra truck, a 94 Ford Ranger. The truck is more than reliable, doesn't get too horrible of gas mileage, and actually has quite a bit of power for a 4-banger Ford truck (it does damned good burnouts). My problem is this though: the truck just doesn't run right. It idles very rough, and has a tapping noise when idling. I think the tapping might have something to do with the exhaust (when I started driving it, the exhaust coupler that goes between the header and the exhaust piping was loose, and I think it may be loose again. Another problem is that it seems to lose power at times. For example, when taking off, sometimes it has quite a bit of power, but then sometimes has less power than it had before. This happens most commonly when I shift gears, and the truck begins to hit the mid part of it's powerband. It's like I will slam the gas to the floor, but it lags before it actually picks up speed, and that's when it runs good, other times it'll just kind of chug along like nothing is happening. I've changed the plugs, and that didn't seem to help out things any. Any suggestions from anyone else out there? oh, and the check engine light doesn't come on, so I don't think it's anything that the ECU deems bad. Truck passed smog about a year and a half ago, if that helps.