Update: I'd bought the kit shortly after buying the truck, finally got around to installing it a few weeks ago. Man, what a pain. I think there's a special hell for mechanical engineers who design these trucks and the locations for things like the BCM/C1 plug. And hey, MOPAR, can you do something about taking the razor-sharp edges off all that metal under the dash? I cut myself more on my Ram than I ever have on my HMMWV - and that's a LOT.
So, I had special instructions on hand from this forum as well as the OEM instructions with the kit, had my truck in the dealer's shop 3 days ago to get a bad battery replaced and some recall/update for passenger seat sensor. Had all that done in about twenty minutes. Dead battery's a dead battery, bad cell, easy exchange, had one on hand, no charge (factory warranty 3/36 or something).
While there, I asked if they could code the fobs to the truck and enable the remote start.
Sure, no problem, $125. Dammit.
I had spoken with a tech friend about doing this at his house, but it was an hour and a half round trip, I was there, so okay.
No dice. Even showed them hard copy of this forum thread. Pointed out the pertinent parts of the OPs comments:
" Lo-and-behold....the instructions didn’t tell you that if it is a 2018, you have to trick it into thinking you replaced that receiver module as well and once you do that, THEN it will take the XBM sales code. Took 10 minutes (of course they charged me a full hour). Remote start worked fine."
TWO hours later, THREE techs looking at the problem, one who'd installed a unit last week and thought I was the same guy having a problem with his, HE couldn't get it working. Fobs worked to open truck, tip start worked, just no remote start.
Yeah, I paid the $125. Ouch. But you still pay your vet even though your dog died from the procedure, right? Like I was going to argue at that point and they'd put three different techs on the thing, said if I could come back next week...
Um, no thanks. My dodge died on the table [see what I did there?]
SO, last night I went to my MOPAR tech friend's house where he had a secure line, the codes for my truck VIN, and he went through the exact same instructions (OEM) the dealer did and...
NOTHING. No remote.
I'd pointed out the hard copy from the OP and mentioned it when I arrived - I confessed I'd had the dealer try this and the failed. He was surprised they charged me anyway but admitted they DID program the FOBs and even his dealer charges $40 each for this service.
At this point, I mentioned the OP post AGAIN.
[an aside: if you do something as routine, do it pretty much the same way, have trained on the system, just KNOW how to do things, anything that is even mildly different, even overtly different, you're likely to miss over and over again. Henry Ford discovered very early on that assembly line workers doing quality assurance would let bad parts through again and again. Best anyone could figure out is, if you're looking for normal, and see a thousand normals, your brain's pattern-recognition sometimes fails to see irregularities. This is called "normalcy bias" in psychology/politics. I've seen it in medicine for decades with radiologists missing OBVIOUS details like a metal cross stuck at the gastroesophageal junction and issuing a report of "No acute cardiopulmonary process or foreign body identified" when it was right there]
My tech friend read and re-read the paragraph, said, "huh... well, lets give it a try."
He did, it worked. Over and over again no problem.
I paid him the $40 he'd asked for, we chatted, and I headed home.
Went outside this AM and truck remote didn't work. Read this on the display: "Remote start disabled. Restart engine to reset."
WTF?
I tipped the fob, let the preheat cycle run up, started the truck, ran it for a minute, shut it down, locked it up and hit remote twice.
Vroom!
For anyone considering this option, know that the dealer will ONLY do what the dealer has knowledge and experience doing. Thinking outside the proverbial box is frowned on in corporate America (tell me one valid reason MOPAR prevents end-users from changing the tire pressure settings when they KNOW those high pressures will prematurely wear out the centers of the tires and make for a harsh ride - techs no longer have access to this option, we tried last night, it's not even in the software they use). TAKE THE OP's instructions with you, BEG them to read the second paragraph again and again until they get it.
Good luck.