There's a couple-four model years between '74 and '82, not to mention
the difference between the 626 and the RX-4! :) the '78-'79 model-year
boundary involved a near-total makeover of the 626 - almost nothing is
compatible between a pre-'79 and '79 or newer 626. '79 -'82 they stayed
almost unchanged, other than a few cosmetic bits (most visible being the
disapperance of the "exhaust system overheat" light from the instrument
panel for the '81 model year), and in '83, the new model was front-wheel
drive, and almost totally incompatible with previous models.  

But no, Ford hadn't gotten their fingers into the 626 by '82, at least,
not to my knowledge. At that point, I'm pretty sure that the only
connection Mazda had with Ford was a contract to build B2000s to be sold
as Ford Courriers. That started in about '77 or '78, if I recall
rightly. (I know for certain that a '78-'83 Courrier 2.0 liter engine is
identical to the engine in my '82 626, except that the valve cover on
the Courrier engine has the Ford logo molded/cast into it, while the
valve cover on my 626 engine bears the Mazda logo - Otherwise, if
there's anything incompatible between the two engines, I haven't
encountered it yet in my boneyard scrounging, which I've done a *LOT*
of) From '83 on, Ford DEFINITELY had their fingers in the 626 pie, but
everybody pretended that Ford and Mazda were still independent
operations.

Later on, I think it was '90, Mazda and Ford stopped pretending, and
just plain crawled into bed with each other - I believe it was the
'90-94 Probe - or maybe the Taurus - I'd have to hunt it up to be sure -
but whichever one it was, for something like 4 model years, Mazda sold
the Protege, which was nothing more or less than an "upscale" 626, and
Ford sold the exact same car, but with different badging and option
packages, as the Taurus/Probe/whichever it was.