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sounds like it could possibly have a problem with shifting into the fourth gear, i have never heard of a truck with only 3 gears

 

yeah that is crazy!

 

Make sure your in drive...

My truck recently when I shifted to park the arrow jumped and is now pointing at the wrong indicator.

For park.
P |R N D 2 1

For Reverse

P R|N D 2 1

For Neutral.

P R N |D 2 1

For Drive.


P R N D|2 1

 

If that's what your indicatior reads (1,2,D,N,R,P) That is a 3-speed. Someone might have changed the gear ratio in the rear end (final drive ratio is what dictates engine rpm vs speed)

Older Autos were 3-speeds as were many manuals. We've gotten spoiled with 4,5,6 & 7 speed automatic transmissions.

GM Powerglide auto transmissions are 2-speed.

You can figure out your rear end ratio this way:
1) Disconnect the driveshaft at the rear axle
2) Jack the rear of the truck off of the ground (you want to see the pinion coming out of the front of the axle spinning)
If you jack both tires off of the ground and they spin opposite directions from each other and the pinion doesn't spin, put 1 tire on the ground
If they both spin the same direction, then the pinion should be rotating
3) Mark a spot on 1 of your tires so that you can tell when it has made 1 full revolution (pointing at the ground works good)
4) Rotate the tire 1 revolution while counting how many times the pinion spins. The pinion will spin more times than the tire

For example, I have 4.56 gearing in my Bronco (very tall gearing i.e. high rpms at low speed) this means the pinion spins 4.56 times for 1 revolution of the tire.

Typical ratios are (at least domestic i.e. Ford, GM, etc) are 2.73, 3.00, 3.08, 3.50, 4.10, 4.56, etc. (Around 3 is a typical stock ratio)

lower ratios help with towing or bigger tires (more power at a lower vehicle speed) but you sacrifice mileage.

Most likely though you're not going into top gear...You shouldn't be at redline at 58 mph.