I'm a bit late coming to this thread, but thought I would add a few items for JTZX to ponder upon.
First, regarding cruise control. I've added aftermarket cruise control to every truck I've owned. I generally purchase used trucks (last new vehicle I purchased was in 198
. Chevy's, Dodge's, Ford's - it just doesn't matter. The cruise control SHOULD increase your mpg AT LEAST 15% on long FLAT trips. Here in the Rocky Mtns, that does not apply. But on the eastern plains, it does. And they all work GREAT. No problems.
I owned a 1977 Ramcharger, when it was new, with the 440 V8. FTFWD. Automatic. 1977 was the LAST year the Ramcharger got the 440. I had aftermarket cruise control installed BEFORE I agreed to purchase it. I met my wife three years after I purchased the Ramcharger and she called it a POS as it had an electrical gremlin that I finally got fixed. It was the 'pass through' connector that the wiring harness connects to on both sides of the firewall. This is one of the FEW vehicles I've sold that I regretted selling, as it was a kick butt vehicle. Ok, gas milage sucked - down around 10 mpg - but it would go ANYWHERE, particularly in the mountains.
Second, if you want part time FWD, go with the newer Chevy CUCV's. Most (not all) come with the NP208 and 2WD as an option. I've owned both Dodge and Chevy and for four wheeling they are about equal. And you can purchase an M1008 for the same price as an M880.
M543A2, no offense, but "
The 6.2 diesel is a no go for dependability." is ONLY true in the civvy versions. I should know, as the one I had in a Suburban puked it's rear main seal, leaving me stranded on dark night in Portland, Oregon. Diesel Power Magazine had an article about rebuilding the 6.2L in a past issue and they suggest strongly to find a 'J' code motor (installed in civvies starting in 1988 - look for the serpentine belt) for your rebuild. Guess what? The 'J' code motors is exactly what ALL military vehicles got. Which is why they stepped up to the 'J' motors in their civvy trucks because it was more stout. For rebuilding purposes, you could pick up one (or several) 6.2L diesel motors for rebuild from GL for cheap. I think I paid $150 for mine. It still is sitting in Georgia (thx RDixiemiller). I gotta go get that sucker one of these days.
Last, but not least here is an excerpt from an article from Off Road Adventures where they are discussing CUCV's...
The CUCV concept didn’t actually start with GM but with Dodge. Around 1973, Dodge began developing the M880 series rigs, which were militarized adaptations of their current model 4x4s. These trucks weren’t known as CUCVs at the time, but were in use for many years. They had two failings, a gasoline powerplant and 12-volt electrical systems. The electrical system was addressed by upgrades where needed, but the gas engine was a fatal flaw to a military increasingly going diesel. When GM developed the 6.2L V8 diesel in the early ’80s, the way was plotted for an answer to that problem...
All the CUCVs were powered by GM’s 6.2L J-series non-emissions V8 diesel. These were rated at 135hp and 240 lbs-ft, which was five more ponies than the emissions gasoline engine of the time. They were all equipped with the legendary TH-400 automatic. All but the M1028A1 and M1031 used a heavy duty version of the NP-208 chain drive t-case.
http://www.4wheelpartsadventures.com/archive/sept_2003/sept03_dept08_01.asp
This article explains that the CUCV was a 'non-tactical' vehicle that was to be used by the military instead of running it's tactical vehicles every time they needed to do 'every day' type of chores they did. Like just running around the base. It's a fair article on the CUCV in particular. As the paragraphs above say, the CUCV did NOT start with the GM products but with the Dodge M880. Whose two LARGE drawbacks were the 12 volt electrical system and the gasoline engine, which was the major draw back. All the GM CUCV's were 24/12 volt, which shows that the Dodge could have made the grade, but it just did not have the diesel engine available AT THAT TIME that the military wanted.
Also note that in 1977 the 318 V8 with it's 'measly' 150 HP is 15 HP HIGHER than the 6.2L military diesel (135 HP), which was 5 HP higher than the civvy gas 350 BEING OFFERED at that time (130 HP). Please remember this was the late seventies/early eighties, we had just had our first 'gas crisis' and the military decided diesel was THE way to go because of it. They follow that path even today - good, bad or indifferent you may be but the military decided after Viet Nam, that it would 'consolidate' all it's vehicles (and uniforms and personal weapons, hell even down to the boots and shoes they purchased).
Sorry about that. I did find this though in a google search: 
. Am I right?