I recently purchased a 1997 1/2 ton.  The guy who owned it before had a detroit locker intstalled in the front diff.  I have never owned a dodge before and i do not know what to expect with steering issues due to the locker.  

there is a lot of wandering and weird steering response when turning on pavement.  do i attribute this due to the locker, possible worn out steering components or 35in (severly cupped) tires?  or a combination of all three?

the front axle is a standard dodge housing for that year.  no lockouts.  the truck has 177k miles and 6in lift.

does anyone have experience with lockers in these front ends or any solid axle truck without lockouts?  what is normal?  what is not normal?  

Detroit's are very bad choices for steering axles. They have no true differential action It either locks both wheels together at same speed and lets faster wheel rachet under no load in turn while other wheel drives the drive shaft. This constant locking and ratcheting can make it steer real squirrely because front tire seldom spin at exact same speed unless a straight line and tires have same diameter and pressure too but as so as you turn the torque bind builds up and feeds  back into steering. If you had lockout hubs at least you could disable it on street but even off road I feel they are a poor choice for a front axle. Personally I would loose truck or locker in front if you plan to drive it a lot on street or on slick surfaces.