I have a 2002 Ford Ranger Edge 3.0L 4x4, manual trans. I usually just drive it on short trips around town, but have been taking longer trips 170 miles or so, and on these longer trips I have noticed the oil pressure gauge will sometimes jump all over place when either at a stop light or at very low speed. As soon as I give it some gas it stays right in the middle. Seems worse when the weather is very hot. The vehicle itself is not overheating. Sometimes it will die at idle if I don't feather the gas pedal. Using 5/20 oil. Any thoughts would be great. Thank you!

 

The oil pressure sensor is known to be wonky on these trucks. On your 3.0 it's located on the back of the motor. It's cheap, so pick up a new one and get to work.

Fun fact, the oil pressure gauge in these trucks isn't even a true gauge. That gauge will always read at half until you hit some low pressure like 5 psi (normal is closer to 60). It's basically a dummy gauge that just tells you that you have oil pressure, even if you almost don't.