Our red maple, about 10 yrs old split bark on main truck this spring. peeling starts about 3' up and extends 3-4' up the trunk. One branch has dead leaves, leaf coloring started early summer. No signs of bugs at this time. leaf growth seems sparse.

Help please.

I'm sure you've seen the other questions and answers regarding sun scald and frost cracks, on this site. It seems as though a 10 year old tree would have developed a thick enough bark by now to protect against that, however it could be an old site of sun scald, that you are just now noticing because the bark started to peel away. Without a photo or anything else to go by, I would advise you bring pictures into your local Extension office: http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/master-gardener/ask/ or you could hire a CERTIFIED arborist.