Well, time flies and progress has continued over the last 8 months. This will cover the major items I've worked on. I'm aiming to be more consistent with my updates and to make some videos of some of the work i'm doing in 2019.
The dash I ended up going back to the SEM dash texture, which still has cracks today. After leaving it in the car a few days, even without a topcoat, it cracked to all hell. That said, it still looks better than the stock cracked dash. Also, turns out the hot glue filler was a bad idea once summer came around. The dash got hot enough that it remelted the glue and formed a few small craters.

I thought I was being clever and didn't think about hot it would be getting during the summer... Sometime I'll pull it back out and fix it differently then maybe flock it.
Built a basic bed platform that sits on top the rear seats when folded down. I fit pretty comfortably back there with my +1 but use a sleeping pad because an air mattress eats up too much vertical space. Tested out a few an ended up with some REI 3" mats that I found on special. It also provides nice storage for my tools and keeps them totally hidden from prying eyes. Still need to secure it with some bolts to the floor, but it sits pretty tight back there with the rear seats up.
Was gifted a set of '01 BMW electric seats which have made their way into the cruiser with a set of homemade brackets. I also temporarily/permanently wired them to a cigarette plug so I have to plug them in whenever I want to adjust either one. Which has been about 3 times in the last 4 months. Will eventually wire them up proper, but not today. I will also be picking up a set of BMW brackets because even though I measured about a dozen times my seats do not sit centered or straight to the steering wheel.
Picked up a used OME Medium 2" lift off of craigslist from a nice dude that had a fully built 60. Got that installed over the summer and didn't use the Boss airbags I have so I could try out just the OME kit. Oh man what a difference. No more jumping, bouncing, slamming... Discovered when taking off the 1 year old stock replacement shocks that 1 was already blown, O'reillys was nice enough to take it back on warranty too!
A few months and off road trips later my tie rods got super tired and started clunking quite a bit. Got a set of tie rod ends from Torfab and got those installed after a month or so. My steering improved, but still had some slop and still clunked when turning at low speed/going over bumps. Luckily some local 60 guys just happen to mention that the spring eye sleeve in OME springs are known to come loose and slide back and forth (1st pic below). Which is where the clunking and slop comes from. The fix is to tack weld the sleeve to the spring so it can no longer shift. I looked at my suspension and it was very clear my sleeves were shifting as the spring was not centered in the shackles. Pulled apart the front shackles and gave them a few tack welds yesterday(2nd pic below). Put some new poly bushing in too as the old ones were jacked from the springs shifting. Made a quick little video too in case anyone needs to do it themselves. Huge difference in steering now, no more clunking, maintains alignment. I only did the front of the springs but I think I should get around to the rest of the eye's whenever i change out bushings.
Some other projects that have been crossed off the list
-sound deadening in doors, wheel wells and most cargo area (doors made a huge difference)
-Picked up a new carpet set, will install once all rust holes are repaired
-repaired rusted wheel wells
-replaced fuel pump that died on the freeway
-replaced oil pan gasket, now it's potty trained
-Tinted my windows with 35%, love the way this looks and feels (summer temperatures)
-Installed tow light plugs
-Installed rear 6x9's
-updated and fixed AC, developed small leak after a month or so. Need to re-fix
-increased the length of my project list.
Next items
-more rust repair
-more sound deadening
-maybe dome light timer
-New seat brackets
-install new carpet
-side cover gasket
-change diff. fluid
-Install headers
-install new front discs
-refurb hubs
-paint FJ Cruiser wheels & mount tires