from NC shooter....looks like you have a great story to go with a great truck...I will not hold it against you that you were originally on the dark side though
I think you are going in the right direction on your quest to rebuild this one....I say continue to read through the build threads....there are many and lots of fantastic ideas over there.....be sure to pick yourself up a Factory Assembly manual (around $35), although it's not in any particular order, lots of great pictures for disassembly/ assembly...continue to ask lots of questions....lots of help on this forum with lots of great people...
Good luck with this build, take lots of pictures (we love pictures here), and keep us posted on your build up....