SWR ISSUES HELP!!!

Where is the antenna mounted?
Are you using an external swr meter, or the meter on the radio?

 

Mounted to the body, where? Like the side of the cab?
Try disconnecting the ground wire, see if that helps.

 

Rf ground and dc ground are not the same thing. A piece of wire does not create a ground plane. If that wire is a certain length, it can become part of the antenna.
An swr of 2 across the band isn't bad necessarilly, anything higher is usually when you start to notice a drop in performance. it has been my experience, that anything around 2, usually has to do with mounting location. 3 or higher, usually means insufficient ground.
Disconnect the ground wire from the mount, if swr goes up, its a ground problem. If it goes down, you'll know the wire was acting as part of the antenna. If it stays at 2, then most likely is the location.

Also, be sure that while you are checking swr, that there are no power lines, buildings, etc within approximately 30-40ft. This can throw things out of whack as well.

 

Difference in power could be due to mis-alignment. Not that uncommon for radio bought of the shelf at truckstops, or, if they have been peaked and tuned, and not aligned afterwards.

 

check your coax, check it from end to end on the shield and the center conductor. What make is the vehicle your installing the radio in. also what is the mounting location.

 

Your meter wattage for these types of meters may fluctuate because of the antenna, so I would start with taking the entire thing to someone who has the right equipment (antenna analyser) to see what the problem is with the antenna. THEN I would look at the radio.