I have a 97 Ford Ranger with 80,000 miles on it. I have a 2.3L 5-speed manual truck. I hade the same problems; no pickup, hard time mantaining highway speed, bucking/jerking. I had a shop look at it and it was the fuel pump. Had it replaced. It was the problem. Then it started doing it again 3 months later. Had the dealership look at it, it was the fuel pump. The first shop put in a aftermarket pump and it failed. Also the ford dealership told me the first shop improperly installed the pump?! Had the dealership put the new factory pump in, it failed. The second one they installed was not faulty and has been fine ever sence. Now I have to try to get my money back from the first shop, they are driving me nuts!! They are giving me the runaround. Spent almost $1000 to get this problem fixed.