I’m active duty military and I live in Tennessee, but I’m stationed in Georgia. It’s a 426 mike drive to base,
I have to say...that's a helluva work commute! LOL And I know the two states share a border, but still...
These may seem like a lot of questions, but the more info we can get, the (hopefully) better diagnosis we can make.
- Do you still have all fwd gears? If not, which one(s) are missing?
- If you're missing one or more forward gears, can you shift manually into that gear? (e.g.; if you have no 2nd, can you start in '1' and shift to '2' when appropriate, based on load? If not...can you get to 3rd, by placing the selector in '3', and running through the gears?
- If you still have all forward gears, are they engaging as usual? Any unusual noises?
- Describe what happens when you put the selector in 'R' (please respond with a little more than 'nothing'...LOL)
Does it engage and just not move? No engagement? Noises? Did you try waiting a few seconds before taking it out of reverse? (they can take 2-3 seconds before engaging, as the trans racks up the miles.) If it engages, does it just 'flare' when you step on the gas?
- Did you hear any unusual noises during that last drive, or when you put it into reverse? (whining, grinding, loud bang, etc. ?)
I see you just joined us. Did you just get the truck recently? If you've had the truck for awhile, how has the trans been running?
- Do you have a Check Engine or Service Engine Soon lamp on?
- How's the fluid level & condition?
How many miles are on the truck?
Oh - and to answer your question about long drives & reverse - you should be able to drive NY > LA non-stop (in theory, but you'd have to stop for gas, of course), and not use reverse once. But the first time you try reverse (whether during that 'drive cycle', or starting the truck after rest for an hour, like you described, etc.) - Reverse shouldn't give you a problem (nor should any other gear), outside of
possibly the slow engagement, *if* you've got high miles on that transmission. IOW... something broke, most likely.