cutting out/backfiring/shutting down

My '98 Dakota has a motor with 60,000 miles onit. Last couple of days it has been ..... 1. shut off with I was driving, it took about 10 minutes to get it started. 2. losing power, then when I press the gas pedal to get it going it backfires and then starts going again. Any ideas? Thanks.

could be a multitude of things, first check for dtc's. 1 fuel pressure 2. wires and plugs 3. crank sensor 4. coil, cap, rotor 5. mechanical failure 6. pcm..

It sounds like a lack of synchro replace your crank sensor