OEM Radio Problems/No Reception

I've owned my 2001 ram 2500 for over a year now, and since I bought it, I've hated the radio that was in it. It was a cheap aftermarket radio that would fade in and out, lose signal in places that shouldn't lose signal, the buttons on the steering wheel didn't work with it, and was just hard to use (as well as looked bad). Since my dad owned a 1999 (he traded it against my will before I could buy myself a truck), I wanted to keep the stock look, and always liked the look of a stock radio in these trucks. So I started out searching, and came up with a radio with the number P04704383AH on it. It said it was for this model, and year, and I assumed all the different radios are compatible (the ones with the "deluxe" sound would still work without that system, and vise/versa), so I ordered it. I decided to put it in when I installed my new dash and bezel (bought the truck with broken ones, and got new ones for Christmas). I get the dash in fine, and go to replace the radio. Fortunately for me, the person who installed the radio, didn't cut up the OEM harness, but instead got a harness with open ends, and hacked it up (dodged a huge bullet there). As I inspected closer, it turns out that one wire (black with a blue stripe) coming off of the OEM harness, was spliced with a wire going into the aftermarket radio. I undid the splice, and shoved the wire back up into the only hole on the OEM connector, where the pin on the radio would grab it (It did infact grab, and make contact the wire as I later explain). I plug in the radio (antenna included), turn it on.....and no sound. I check all stations, but not even static. I then read the little diagram on the back of the radio, and it says that the black wire (it didn't say black, but it said that pin on the connector) was "mute." I took out the black wire, plug everything back in, and then get static, and the steering wheel buttons working, yay! I assume that the reception is bad because I am in a shop, so I pull outside, but it doesn't get any better. I can BARLEY pick up any of the many powerful stations around where I am. I had a tractor in the same spot 2 days before, and it's radio picked up all the stations loud and clear. I unplug and replug the antenna cable, but it doesn't get any better. I then look up a few different diagrams, and some said something about that pin/wire being and amplifier (or something similar. So, while the radio is on, I insert the wire back into the connector (while it is plugged in, and the radio playing static), and the second the wire touches the pin, the radio goes silent. I assume that is why it didn't make any noise at first, but why do I not get any reception? I have seen different diagrams/wiring keys, so I'm not sure what to go with. Did I even get the correct radio? I saw a YouTube video of a guy with the cassette tape player style on a 1999 ram (it's the same as the radio on a '96 ram we have), swap to the disk style (similar to what I bought, it had the bass, treble, and other adjustment, but it had marks up and down beside the sliders, my radio doesn't) so I assumed that they are all compatible (except the radio with 5 different adjustment sliders). I know little to nothing about the radios in these trucks. Is the radio style that is in my '96 dodge compatible withe my 2001 dodge? Did I even buy the correct radio. If I didn't what is the correct radio?

I appreciate any help,
Josh
See attached pics of radio and connections (the free-hanging wire is the black wire I mentioned)

normally reception like you describe is a broken wire somewhere in the antenna from radio to antenna, I'd try a new amplified (wire wrapped ) antenna better reception