Jared - I spent a lot of time at Balad crewing Blackhawks. I am pretty sure I was home for most of '08 so doubt we crossed paths.
Terrh - sounds quite familiar. That is a crazy intro to working in cars. Pretty impressive that you were able and willing to jump in and tackle that job.
Made it to my families place in California yesterday. The transmission is pouring fluid and the transfer case is running at a little over 200 deg. Due to my time constraints I will be continuing to Alabama in another vehicle. While I am in my course in Alabama I will be sourcing parts to get Brutus back on the road. August I will come back with all the parts, put him back together and finnish this trip, though this time my destination will be North Carolina. Not happy with having to leave Brutus but dont really have too many options at this point. My family has a shop, tools and space for me to do the work I need to. Much better than doing temp fixes and getting stuck on the road again.
Thank you all for the support. The journey isnt over yet, just on hold for now.