At the risk of appearing political I'd suggest our government regulators are a big part part of the shift toward automatics in newer trucks.
It's much easier for automakers to achieve fleet economy standards when they can computer control the shift points. As those fleet numbers go higher every little bit of economy they can get will be needed.
And that will affect what is available in new trucks as well as cars.
If you really have to have a truck with a manual buy a truck that has one now and stockpile parts to keep it on the road long-term. Or build an old one like Grigg is doing.
Meanwhile, a properly functioning automatic will out shift most drivers using a stick, and if you're running a big V-8 like Speed here is, your torque band is wide enough you don't really need to be shifting very often anyway.
A stock '76 454 doesn't make huge torque and HP numbers, but its a hard working motor that will do a lot of work.
