98? OBS 7.3 powerstroke or 12v p7100 injection pump, both are pretty easy to upgrade and cheap to run, and both can be pretty reliable, the 6.5 is OK if you leave it dead stock, there isnt much room to upgrade, the other two will be far easier to upgrade and get good power from them

 

Ditto

 

Actually the dodge is de-tuned for the manual. Ford did the same thing with their manuals. Manual trucks get the de-tuned motors.

The autos are holding up just fine with stock power, towing 20k everyday of their lives. You have to do two things to keep them alive. Keep your ATF cool, and change your ATF at REGULAR service intervals. The allison is far from being a weak transmission. SunCoast has over 1,000HP running through the 68RFE, that doesn't sound weak to me either...

And for the record, Ford sold plenty of 6 speed manuals behind the 6.0L as well.

As I stated before, buy the truck you like and you will get several hundred thousand miles of service out of her. Sure you have to replace front end steering components on Dodge's, injectors on some Chevy's, and turbo's on the Ford's, but these are at 100k intervals. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. When you turn up the power, you will have to invest money in other hard parts to keep it reliable.

Drive all three trucks and buy the one YOU LIKE best.

I like Ford & Dodge. I'm also 6'1" and weigh 250lbs and am built like a corn fed mule from the mid west. The GM's make me feel crunched up. The Ford seats are a little on the narrow side in the upper back for me.

I really like the Dodge, and the air conditioned leather seats.

 

I had a 01 dodge 2500 gasser and the tranny went out twice and when the rearend gave out it even took out the housing... put a 1ton rearend under it and the brakes just barely cleared the stock rims

 

ve a friend with a 99 7.3 he says is the best!!! I have an 04 6.0 And I say it's the best. The onlt trouble I have had is cleaning the EGR Valve. 30 mlnutes tops. When I drive 80 mph I get 13.6 70 mph 14.0 65 mph 15.6 50 mph 18.3 .. So milage is related to how hard you push down. The 6.0 is pure power.

 

buy you a 3/4 ton cummins... fanciest one u can find all the creature comforts... i have power heated leather seats..,. power heated mirrors... wouldnt trade it for my life.... get ya a manual too...