Mopar Forums - Transmission ID decoding

Greetings,

I have a need to identify two

that I have. I have the numbers taken off the drivers side 'pad' just above the pan:

PK5211843125449326
PK453128100506680

I have found many requests and responses for decoding the numbers however I have found no answer that actually speaks to where the translation comes from... i.e. a source for decoding the numbers.

I am trying to determine the model and year of both the transmissions mentioned above and to also determine if I can replace the 2nd listed unit above with the 1st listed in a 1990 Dodge Ram B250 van.

The differences I see between the two that I mentioned is an electronic connector which is a 3 pin inline connector on the 2nd one and an 8 pin din type connector on the 1st. Pulling the pans on both reveals there are a few more solenoids it looks like in the 1st number above than the 2nd. Out side of that the only other difference is a 2 pin connector on the tail stock of the 1st mentioned transmission and the absence of that on the 2nd. Both look to have overdrive and both look like they have lock up torque converters. Oh, and there is a slight difference in the actual pans. Other than that they both look pretty identical, are the same length, have the same style tail stock and the same bolt pattern on the bell housing.

Outside of the above, it has been a bear to try to nail down what these are and what features one has over the other. Even O'Reily's auto parts could not nail it down... with their central parts support line. This, along with the fact that for any given Dodge vehicle, it could have come with one of a dozen different transmission options seems to be a major issue with all Chrysler/Dodge transmissions. Makes one wonder how the right parts for repair are ever identified.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks