From a guy that does every bit of his own repairs, I prefer manuals over automatics mainly from a cost and time point of view. If a manual quits it's usually just a clutch and I have it back in action in a few hours for a few hundred dollars, if that. If an auto goes bad, it's down for days (if it's repairable at all) and will cost several hundred dollars to repair. If you keep the gear lube full, a heavy-duty 4 speed will far out last an automatic in the working conditions I put them through. In my "big bolt" fleet, economy isn't even measurable so it's not even a concern, just reliability.
Just my 2 cents (and not looking for a [censored] match),
Scott
