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In our '76, the tailgate latching system is a little the worse for wear To close the tailgate securely, you have to hold in the latch while closing it, which is a bit of a pain in the proverbial (as well as needing new struts on the cap so have to hold that open with my head while closing the tailgate...).
Here's some pictures of the latch - any ideas on what might need fixing?
I don't know if this is any help, but of the six '73-'79 trucks I have owned over the past few years, I don't remember having one that you didn't need to hold the latch while closing, and hold your mouth just right and pull the tail gate to one side or the other while opening to get them to open. Something about 40 years of vibration, rust and lack of proper maintenance that does them in. While it is a bit of work to do, I took parts from a mid '90's truck and fabbed them into my '79 tail gate and it works flawless.
You might try to take all of the parts shown in ND's post out of your tail gate and clean and lubricate them. I would look for any of the rods that may be bent and fix that. Look at the holes where the rods go into #431C88 for worn oblong holes. I know that was at least part of the problem with the one I fixed. Replace #431C56 (both of them) when you go back together.
Replace #431C56 (both of them) when you go back together.
Don't get these from the HELP rack at O'Reilly's, mine lasted a few months. Somewhere there is a post as the '96 truckes used the same part but maybe a different number. (The only reason I'm not searching for you is I'm on my phone and its a PITA.)
This past weekend I fixed my tailgate of the same problem. One thing that helped the most. Look at both sides of the tg. The latches have probally moved. Loosen them slightly and make them straight. The latches need some wd40/PB to lube them. The bottom pivots have shifted. Make sure these are level with each other. The latch loops that are attached to the box that the latches inside the tg hook onto. See if they have moved.
Now my wife can open and close thw tg with one hand. Previously, I had to do it. I would hold the handle in the open position and slam the tg closed and couple time until it would stay, then manually push the handle back closed. It would not return to the closed position by itself.
On yours, check that all the alignments are correct.
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To close the tailgate securely, you have to hold in the latch while closing it, which is a bit of a pain in the proverbial (as well as needing new struts on the cap so have to hold that open with my head while closing the tailgate...).
