I'm trying to avoid turning it into a crack *****. I'll probably just end up moving vehicles around. Thanks for the ideas guy. That coolant heater thing sounds like its WAY out of my budget.

 

you don't have good glowplugs?

mine would start down below 0* usually on the first cycle, very rarely did I have to cycle them twice to get it to light up.

you don't need to plug it in if you have 2 GOOD batteries and good glow plugs

 

That is true. You need the whole glow plug system functioning well and you shouldn't have any trouble starting it in cold weather. Make sure all the connections are clean and tight. All the wiring is in good shape and check for any voltage drop in the wiring when the glow plugs are on. Tested under load (on) you shouldn't have more than .2 Volts from your battery post to the glow plug. Easiest way to describe this test is this: place your positive lead from your meter on the battery post (Not the terminal that is clamped to the post since this is another connection you need to test!). Then place your negative lead on the glow plug while the system in ON! If you see a voltage higher than .2 volts then you have a dirty connection or bad component (Don't forget the contacts of the glow plug relay).
There are two ways to check your glow plugs. Quickest is to see what they 'ohm' out at. I just see if they are all the same ohm reading individually to ground. If you find one with high resistance or 'open' then you know it is bad. If they all seem good and it still has trouble starting then you need to pull them all out. Take them one by one and ground the body near the threads. Hit the end terminal with 12v (Hold them with pliers while doing this because they are supposed to glow red hot!) and make sure the end heats up. Sometimes they will go bad and heat up (Glow Red) up by the threads instead of near the end. When this happens, they need replacing.

There are two schools of thought here. Some only replace them as they go bad. Others will replace all 8 when they are this far and not worry about the life left in the few that are still working good. I understand both ways. If you don't have the money for all of them, then you will just have to do the extra work.
I would recommend using Ford OEM parts here though because the aftermarket ones just don't hold up as well. In this case the aftermarket ones actually wind up costing you more money in the long run.

My take on ether - DON'T!! It can ruin an engine in seconds. I'm glad for those of you that have gotten away with it in the past. I wish I knew for sure that problems only arise from using too much. I do know that the most common problem is bent rods. If the rod bends and it winds up lowering your compression (From the rod actually getting shorter!) then it can cause an engine to not start without ether. That is what people refer to as an engine becoming dependent on ether. Supposedly it is somewhat safe if you will spray the ether on a rag and then hold that near the intake . . . . I have decided that I don't want to take the chance so I just refrain from 'using'.

Hope some of this helps

 

I was told that when using ether, to just not use the glow plugs and it should be fine. So the few times I've had to use so far that's what I've done.

As for the GP system, should I just be safe and replace everything, the GPs, the relay and the controller? As soon as I can recover from my surgery and get back to work I'm going to start setting aside money for batteries. Where can I get Motorcraft GPs? I hate our local parts store so I go half an hour to the nearest Autozone or Checkers. Autozone is showing on their site AC Delco, Bosch, and Autolite GPs. I know to stay away from the autolites but what about Bosch? Or should I only use the Motorcraft ones?