New member C20 4.8 budget build swap questions

[DM72C20]

Hi,

It's my first time being part of a forum like this. I have looked through many build pages and liked a lot of ideas I've seen on here.

My truck is a 1972 C20 that I have had for a few years. It was originally from Nevada where its previous owner drove it back to Canada and did some restoration to it. I have taken the truck on some road trips to Chicago and out to Halifax. It's been a great work truck, hauling lumber to my workshop where I make furniture. The only real downside was the fuel economy which at its worst was around 5/6mpg and best ever was just under 13mpg. It also didn't have as much power as I had hoped from the 350/350 combo. So now it is part way through a LS swap with a 2009 4.8l with 4L60E is in its place. My retired dad and I have been doing the work, mostly him, with the intent to make it a reliable daily driver, with better mileage and much more power than was there. It is a work truck and not meant for shows or even going too fast though I do enjoy that. The build is on a slim budget with the idea to reuse stock parts where appropriate or to get modern parts that will do the job.

Some questions about the swap that I haven't figured out yet:

-what to do for the fuel tank? Behind the seat tank is out now, and I want to figure out what will work under the bed, ideally using the 09 fuel pump. Plastic would be nice to avoid rust. I read recently about 87-91 Blazer tanks fitting well but I don't know the flange size that the pump would go in.

-what to do about gauges? I like the original gauges better than new ones, but a Speedhut or Cable X is very spendy compared with a set of New Vintage or Dakota. I saw the thread about an S-10 gauge swap which could work.

-what to do about the rad? I could get the original one cleaned out, add a steam fitting and then somehow adapt the 09 fans to a fabricated shroud. My dad is a sheetmetal worker by trade so that's possible for him.

-how to even begin the wiring? The rats nest is off the engine and while I have looked through LT1swap.com, I still don't get how to go from rats nest to pin out charts and whatnot.

-who can program the PCM? Anyone know Toronto area guys that can do this? Send it to LT1swap.com? It's going to be stock, probably will run the stock cats and O2 sensors.

Any pointers would be great!

Derek