Dodge: 99 4x4 sport wont stay runningputtering, vacuum leaks, vacuum leak

Question
monday engine light came on. tuesday ran fine. wednesday would crank but not start. 4&8 were miss firing changed plugs and wires charged battery. Fought to start clanked and banged then turned over and lots of smoke blew out of exhaust aslo changed distributor cap. starts with gas left off gas and it dies. runs rough there are no more codes on it what could be wrong

Answer
You say smoke blew out of exhaust?what color was the smoke?did you gap the plugs to the specifications?Also could be spark plug wires,do you have the plugs wires routed right?Also could be he fuel pump.Also the manual states that it could be faulty fuel..(water in fuel).I know this is a lot to check,but it's the best things i can tell you.Also says to check for vacuum leaks.******I would say check the fuel pump and check for a vacuum leak****Did the truck just start doing it all of a sudden?Please reply so we can narrow this down!RamMan