diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index edad10f..a02643a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,11 @@
+# ea_airflow_util v0.3.8
+## New Features
+- Add `dbt deps` step to `RunDbtDag` before `dbt seed` to ensure dbt packages are installed before execution.
+
+## Fixes
+- Fix bug in `RunDbtDag` where `test_vars` was incorrectly assigned `run_vars` instead of the user-provided `test_vars`.
+
+
 # ea_airflow_util v0.3.7
 ## Fixes
 - Fix change in interface in `SlackWebhookHook` instantiation in Slack callables.
diff --git a/ea_airflow_util/dags/run_dbt_airflow_dag.py b/ea_airflow_util/dags/run_dbt_airflow_dag.py
index eca5ab6..a8bb320 100644
--- a/ea_airflow_util/dags/run_dbt_airflow_dag.py
+++ b/ea_airflow_util/dags/run_dbt_airflow_dag.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 from airflow.operators.trigger_dagrun import TriggerDagRunOperator
 from airflow.utils.task_group import TaskGroup
 
-from airflow_dbt.operators.dbt_operator import DbtRunOperator, DbtSeedOperator, DbtTestOperator
+from airflow_dbt.operators.dbt_operator import DbtDepsOperator, DbtRunOperator, DbtSeedOperator, DbtTestOperator
 
 from ea_airflow_util.dags.ea_custom_dag import EACustomDAG
 from ea_airflow_util.callables.variable import check_variable, update_variable
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ def __init__(self,
         # run-time vars
         self.seed_vars = seed_vars
         self.run_vars = run_vars
-        self.test_vars = run_vars
+        self.test_vars = test_vars
 
         # bluegreen
         self.opt_swap        = opt_swap
@@ -147,9 +147,10 @@ def __init__(self,
     # build function for tasks
     def build_dbt_run(self, on_success_callback=None, **kwargs):
         """
-        four tasks defined here: 
+        tasks defined here:
 
-        dbt seed: 
+        dbt deps:
+        dbt seed:
         dbt run:
         dbt test:
         dbt swap: bluegreen step, not required
@@ -168,6 +169,14 @@ def build_dbt_run(self, on_success_callback=None, **kwargs):
             dag=self.dag
         ) as dbt_task_group:
 
+            dbt_deps = DbtDepsOperator(
+                task_id=f'dbt_deps_{self.environment}',
+                dir=self.dbt_repo_path,
+                target=self.dbt_target_name,
+                dbt_bin=self.dbt_bin_path,
+                dag=self.dag
+            )
+
             dbt_seed = DbtSeedOperator(
                 task_id= f'dbt_seed_{self.environment}',
                 dir    = self.dbt_repo_path,
@@ -198,7 +207,7 @@ def build_dbt_run(self, on_success_callback=None, **kwargs):
                 dag=self.dag
             )
 
-            dbt_seed >> dbt_run >> dbt_test
+            dbt_deps >> dbt_seed >> dbt_run >> dbt_test
 
 
             # bluegreen operator
@@ -252,7 +261,7 @@ def build_dbt_run(self, on_success_callback=None, **kwargs):
                     dag=self.dag
                 )
 
-                dbt_build_artifact_tables >> dbt_seed
+                dbt_deps >> dbt_build_artifact_tables >> dbt_seed
 
             # Trigger downstream DAG when `dbt run` succeeds
             if self.external_dags: