@grouch i see that however never heard of this being such an issue on a v8 equipped model. maybe there was some issue with the internals on the v6 that was causing it to happen more often. used to be hardcore dodge we used to regularly ask this dakota guy if he did his chain yet. regardless im aware its a common practice with mfg to use parts across the board as it makes sourcing them easier.
Over the years, metallurgy has advanced. I've owned well over 100 vehicles of most makes. My '54 Dodge with the 241 Hemi V-8 jumped time around 60,000 miles. Get up to the early 70's and my Chevelle jumped time at about 120K. Move up to the 90's and I had a '94 Ram with the V-6 and a '93 Dakota with the 5.2 both had excessive slop around 180K. So the chains are becoming more durable, but like anything mechanical, they do get wear. If the previous owner only fixed what was broke, something basic like the oil changes may have been neglected.
I bought a car from an estate that had been owned by a miser. Literally. It was a 1980 Caprice with the 350. About as tested and reliable a car as you will find. He had bought it new. He kept a book with every expense the car incurred. Tires, wipers, adding a quart of oil, a door handle that broke and so on. It had 72,000 or so miles. Nowhere in the book was a mention of an oil or spark plug change. The car looked new. The engine had no power. I had to run it until warm to change the oil. It was nearly congealed when cold. As it came out, there were lots of little bits of metal. I eventually pulled the engine. The cylinders looked like the rings were made of sand paper. Rather than rebuild it, I put a different engine in it. In short, poor maintenance costs in the long run.
