I'll jump in - I'm in the same boat you are. I've had my truck about 3 years, and have been restoring it as I go, with a whole lot of help from this forum. For the first two years of ownership, I put EXACTLY 138 miles on the truck. That's because I needed to save the money to make the repairs necessary to make it driveable. This year I've put almost 500 miles on it because THE BRAKES AND STEERING are finally good. The engine and clutch are still crap, but at least I can white knuckle around town while I save up money for the next project.
As others have said, take a step back, and take a long hard look at your truck. Determine what you want it to be when it's done. Then do research here, and find out what it will take to get it there. Don't spend money twice by changing your mind halfway through a project.
I break my projects down into bite-size pieces. I do one project at a time, and drive/enjoy the truck in between. I have a spreadsheet outlining the costs of each "project" I've undertaken so far.
Start with the known issues, like your electrical gremlins: 90% of the time, this is a bad, rusted ground connection or a rusty connection at the fusebox. Find the bad ground and you'll probably be in business.
Next: Start from the ground up:
FLUIDS: This will tell you A LOT about how the truck was maintained.
* Change the oil and filter. Look for chunks of metal in the oil. Cut open the filter too, while you're add it.
* Look at the coolant, don't just top it off. Look at it in the radiator - is it full of gunk/cloudy?
* Change the transmission and transfer-case gear oil. GET THE "FILL" plugs open first
1. This way, if the fill plugs are seized, you're not stuck with a drained tranny or transfer you can't fill
2. BEFORE you drain: Check the levels - stick a pinky in the fill hole and see if you feel gear oil. If you don't, the trans could be draining into the transfercase, or vice-versa, which means the seal between them is bad.
*Change the diff fluid, again, pull the fill plugs first - if your diff fluid is "milky" or full of sludge, it probably means there's water in it, and the previous owner didn't take good care of the diffs.
Brakes - check master cylinder for leaks, booster for function, lines for cracks/rust/dry rot, and make sure the disc brakes have pads and the drums are adjusted.
Steering -
1. check for play or "looseness" in the tie rod ends - pretty common issue that leads to wobbly, crappy steering.
2. check for a build-up of sludgy "gunk" on the knuckle "ball" behind your brakes, on the axle. Lots of goop means it's time to rebuild your knuckles.
Driveshafts - get under the truck, try to move the driveshafts up, down, around, and side to side. If there's play, you'll need U-Joints
Suspension - Check you shackle bushings (they are probably dry-rotted) this will also affect steering.
^^^When all of this is done, start on the engine/mechanicals.
If it runs, drive it, and let it tell you what it needs next...Run it, check for oil leaks, oil in the coolant, crappy idle or sluggish throttle, etc. Do a compression check and see if it's time for a rebuild.
That said, if an engine is worn and smokey, it'll still get you where you need to go, usually. If your brakes fail at 60mph...well...you're kind of screwed...
