One problem related to power train has been reported for the 1997 Chevrolet 1500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I have owned the vehicle 3 weeks. On Monday August 6th, the vehicle stalled on a street in a commercial area. I was able to coast to a parking space. The engine restarted and I drove the vehicle CA. 50 yards before another failure, when I coasted to a stop sign. The vehicle did not restart, and I was towed to my home. On Wednesday augus 8th, the vehicle stalled 3x at a discount store parking lot, and finally stalled at work on the same day. The mechanic said that this was the pmd on the chevy 6. 5l diesel engine, and was a common failure. This is a real hazard, as the vehicle does not always restart, and were I going down the hiway (expecially with a trailer), I would have lost accelleration power steering and power brakes. This could easily cost someone their lives.