Thanks everyone for the great input!
I had thought about the shackles, but I considered the "funky handling" that the shackles would create, and decided against them.
Like they say, "You get what you pay for", and either I ante up big bucks for an entire lift kit that includes springs/shocks/etc for both front and back, or I leave my stock suspension as is.
Since I don't want the headaches (not to mention dangers) involved with a "cheap" solution, and I'm not excited about spending big bucks for a 3" rise, I've elected to use the money for other parts of my resto/rod project. My stock suspension is in great shape (3/4 ton) so i'll keep it for a while longer.
Again, thanks for all the great input!
Tom
