I own a 97 Limited 4WD SOHC with 118k miles and i've been told by a
shop that the transmission went.  The fluid is a dark nasty color and
when it gets hot it stops moving.  If I let it cool it drives again but
then stops when it gets hot.  Is it in fact toast and needs a complete
rebuild?  If the tranny is dead I don't think it's worth the ~$2500 to
rebuild it since the truck has a few other problems that I don't feel
like fixing (harsh ride, blend door).

So, if that's the case I'm looking to trade it in for something newer
but I'd like to not spend any more than $10,000 so that puts me in the
2001 and lower category.  I liked my SOHC with the 5 speed tranny and
it's decent gas mileage so I think I want to stick with that again
unless the consensus of the group is to go with the 5.0.  Basically,
I'm looking for years to stay away from and common problems that I can
check for when I go to look at one.  I know these things are notorious
for blown trannys so I'd like to avoid losing another one if possible.
What year did they "solve" the blend door problem?  Is it easy enough
to tell if the heater box has been replaced or not?  If I buy from a
dealer is it worth it to buy a warranty with it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  And if enough people tell me
that the 2002 is reliable enough then I might just splurge and get one
of those.

Thanks,
Dave Earle