kenner

Tacoma 00; 4WD has cap. Check engine light comes on intermittently; read at AUTOZONE as P1780 I finally took it to a dealer while visiting down state. They said they couldn't do anything unlessl the light was on again (had been several weeks). They threw in a courtesy wash (problem?) On the way back to the relatives, the truck was acting odd, seemed not to want to go into drive, I asked my son in law to test drive it; he had the same experience but as we were sitting in the driveway the check engine light came on. After that it would not shift out of first gear. I called the dealer and he insisted they had done nothing but try to read the code. I then called another dealer which was closer and was advised DO NOT DRIVE in first gear for more than a few miles even if slow. Had an expensive tow to the dealer. They did read the code but said they can't find any problem with the switch and that the problem is probably a short from the rear light on the cap. They said they test drove the truck, removed the cap, and checked the wiring all within the space of 40 minutes. Somehow I don't believe them. As they were especially busy, I think they just wanted me gone. The truck was running correctly at that time, so I headed 200 miles to home, with no problems. Would a short actually interfere with the transmission is my big question. The last two times that the check engine light came on there was moisture, (rain and then the truck being washed) Do I start looking for an independent or wait for it not to be running correctly?