[hat_man]

I think the only other options for taller gears in the 7.5 open would be 3:27 or 3:08. With only about 130hp (?) the 3:27 and almost for sure the 3:08 would be too much gear to get rolling from a dead stop. I still do some in town driving and don't want it to be a dog at stoplights.

I was planning on a whole rear end swap rather than just trying to swap the gears. Much simpler. I thought about an 8.8" from an Exploder but IIRC there are issues with the emergency brake and maybe some other things. I wanted as straightforward a swap as possible.

The old truck was getting 28+ MPG before the "issues" started. I did some "mods" from our list and at it's best was getting 30 MPG consistently. The "issues" have cost me over $600 and it's still not running right. 28 mpg was still really good for a truck with nearly 300k miles on her. The new truck has 75k miles and a better engine. I got 28 mpg on the way home from the sale and I haven't even started with any mods. I know they are capable of over 30 mpg.

It's just a matter of making a decision on 3:45 or 3:55 gears now. Anyone else have any real world experience?

Thanks.