need some input.

[waxthis]

Best advice here.
Stay away from the V10s, they're crap even with no miles on em.
A truck, especially one that big, that isn't a diesel, is absolutely worthless and dumb. 6.0s suck, 6.4s are too expensive still to do anything fun with, 6.7s haven't been out for long enough. Look for a 7.3, best diesel engine every put in a passenger vehicle from any manufacturer. You can find em in any Powerstroke from 94-03... 94-98.5 is the old body style, 99 and up is what you want if you're looking for a Super Duty (but if you get a 99 make sure its a late-99 not an early one). 2003 was the transition year so only the early 03s have the 7.3 and they're few and far between, all the rest have 6.0s.
I'm inclined to point out though.... Ford DID NOT come out with the 7.3... there's a reason my truck has International badges on it

+1...My 7.3 was the best vehicle I ever owned. Chipped, gutted cat, intake, wicked wheel, deleted wastegate, BTS valve body, exhaust, Dp-tuner, etc.......18 MPG pulling my 26' bunkhouse fiver all day, every day....Man I miss that thing...
NO TRADE!

[blackford76]

My V-10 still runs great. 215k with nothing but oil changes and tune ups. BUT 11 mpg is getting old. Heaviest I ever pulled the mountains? A touch over 36k. Normal weight? 11,800 for the first 195,000 miles. She is my daily driver now, about 8k. I agree the 7.3 is one helluva engine, but the V-10 KILLS the 6.0.
A lot of the vans that haul skiers run the v-10, and the average mileage they are getting is around 500k.

My .02