I need to know what the yearly Nielsen rankings were for the two
shows, The dukes of hazzard, and Dallas. How did the shows do against
each other?

Hi tnut:

Detailed Neilsen Ratings information is available (for purchase) from
the Neilsen website:

Historical Reports 
http://www.vnuemedia.com/nielsenmediaresearch/store/product_purchase.jsp?category_name=Historical+Reports&range_start=1&range_end=10&pattern_type=1

However, that's an expensive route to go. I was able to find some
information about Top 20 shows for the years that both shows were on
the air together (1979 - 1985) for full seasons. It certainly shows
that Dallas outdid the Dukes quite consistently.

1979 - 1980: Dallas #5, Dukes #8
1980 - 1981: Dallas #1, Dukes #3
1981 - 1982: Dallas #1, Dukes #6 (Tie)
1982 - 1983: Dallas #2, Dukes not in top 20
1983 - 1984: Dallas #1, Dukes not in top 20
1984 - 1985: Dallas #2, Dukes not in top 20

This information can be found at: 

The Eighties Club
http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id167.htm

Nielsen Ratings of TV Shows in the 80's
http://www.80sxchange.com/80s_charts/79-80.html

Top 20 Shows of the 1980s
http://home.neo.rr.com/thesharktank/top20.htm

The Dukes of Hazzard
http://www.tvtome.com/DukesofHazzard/

Dallas
http://www.tvtome.com/Dallas/

Search Strategy (on Google):
* neilsen ratings
* nielsen ratings "dukes of hazzard" 
* "dukes of hazzard"

I hope this helps. 

websearcher

This is exactly what I wanted to know.
Thank you.
Tnut

Here I thought Dukes of Hazard would have been #1.  Perhaps my tastes
were skewed from being a wee lil' one back in those years.