There is much truth (all truth) in brokenhead's post.
If you really want an inexpensive, comfortable, and reliable daily driver, buy a newer used truck.
These old trucks are usually not a good investment - a person does not make a good "investment" in an asset that most probably won't sell for a profit. The "average gain" of selling a "frame off" restore is a negative number. This depends on how much you have to put into the vehicle, how much of the work you can do yourself (unpaid), and how much you can sell it for.
Your truck is relatively rare - not rare enough to make it valuable as a "collector vehicle". Usually owning one of these old trucks is a hobby.
You state a lot of motivations and desires.
You want to control cost but you might want upgrades (brakes, engine, transmission, rear-end)? You might want to keep it close to stock and you might not. You want to "do it right", but time and money are important factors. These are all logical/practical things to consider.
If you just want a safely drivable and relatively desirable vehicle, just repair what you have. If a major part goes bad, or a major system needs to be replaced/ repaired, then you could do a cost-comparison regarding repairing/replacing/modifying.
