Manual steering cna take a little getting used to if you're not familiar with it. One thing that will help is to make sure that the tire pressures are at the vehicle manufacturers spec. Low tire pressures will make it steer hard. If you're planning to drive it regularly, I'd suggest putting radial tires on. They have lower rolling resistance, which will ease steering effort.
One more thing, lube the front end. If the tie rods and balljoints are dry you'll get increased effort in turning the truck.
The best thing that I can suggest is as soon as you get plates, drive it around in a low traffic area to get used to the handling and steering. It's not really that bad once you get used to it.

Bill Burmeister