Diesel Bombers - need some newbie help

Ive pulled farm tractors for a long time. nothin like pullin a truck. i need some help. as for the truck, 95 Dodge auto. got a big air filter, no silencer ring, no metering plate, adjusted afc, increased high idle rpm. still stock turbo:booo: but it does make 35psi. the converter is a little weak i think but i wired in a manual lock switch and thats when i found out the converter wont lock until the transmission has shifted into third gear(which in my case is direct). even in low range thats kinda fast with 3.54 rears. so anyhow i need some advice from yall whove been doin this for a while. is second gear where i gotta be? it seems slow. lets the engine rev almost to the limit. also it doesnt make a lot of smoke. i thought there would be a lot more with the metering plate out. anyhow hope someone can help. thanks