I have a 2004, 3.0 2wd ranger. At intermittant points I will have crank the key, get one click and then just accessory lights. Then I have to shift it to neutral and back and it will generally start. But the odd thing is my radio will set by to default. Similar to disconnecting the battery. I was curious if anyone else has any clue what could be going on.

 

Remove and clean BOTH battery cables as the first step

One of them is not able to provide the 60+ AMPS the starter motor needs instantly when key is turned to START, so brief no voltage(radio clock/presets erased) and then minimal voltage/amps to run lights and such
In a DC voltage system, like a vehicle, BOTH positive and negative have to pass the same AMPs

 

Finally got around to cleaning them after work. Before cleaning them I voltage dropped from the battery terminal to the wire itself and found I was dropping half a volt. I actually ordered higher quality terminals because I did a sketchy repair after school one day because my harness had fully corroded through. I plan on doing a harness here soon just they are hard to find.