a few years ago I could have told almost exactly the same story.
I drove a 52 1 ton pickup to high school, while rebuilding a second engine and then swapping.
I think you are on the right track, and recommend you drive your truck as is for a while as you gather knowledge both from reading, and mostly from attending shows and seeing what other people have done with their trucks.
I learned from inspecting many trucks at shows that often radical changes like front suspension and engine swaps are poorly done, and not very well thought out, and pretty scary, as far as safety goes. I make it a point when I do modifications to do them in such a way to look as if it was done at the factory. I have seen to many sketchy instillations where parts cut with a torch and ugly welds are the biggest feature, don't be another one of those guys...
My truck is slightly larger than yours, but you may get some ideas on swapping axles from my picture link below.
I use my trucks as real trucks, and am not a fan of complete frame swaps, or even front clip swaps. I think that there are to many drawbacks to these approaches when compared to just axle and or brake upgrades. I also don't care much for "crate engines", as it seems everyone goes with this approach when they want more power. I like something different and more practical, like a diesel, or a well tuned and modified stovebolt.
Grigg
