1) Javascript is a single threaded application. Timeouts and animations ONLY push the event to the end of the stack based on an ideal stacking order. A long running section of script can cause the actual firing time of that event well past the accuracy you are looking for.
2) Animation approximates how much to increment, and on larger numbers that resolution is very inaccurate.
3) jQuery only has one animation buffer. You might run into some serious rendering issues if you invoke more than one "counter" using animation. Make sure to stop the previous animation before making any adjustments that effect it.
4) Even with a timeout of 0, you can expect the real world delay of ~15. Even if that is the only "thread" you have running.
Solution:
take a snapshot of the DTG
set your interval to something within the human experience, say ~200
on each interval, check how much time has passed from the original DTG
set your text field to that delta number.
stop the interval with the original DTG + "your target number" > the new DTG