Just so this doesn't get left wide open and unanswered, I made a decision.
None of the above (mostly)
I decided to go with making the Ranger setup the best it can be. I really wanted to make it something it was not, and I guess I'll file that away in the back for later.
The decision going forward with.my build is Explorer rear axle, and Dana 35 TTB front with a lot of inspiration being taken from
@BlackBII. Watched his video on his front end, and was inspired. I think with my Volvo steering setup, his long radius arm and front end k member linkage setup on a barely lifted truck could prove very interesting, especially if I cut my body panels back to allow my tires to articulate fully. That with a few jeep days mods to both front and rear sway bars could make for a very interesting sleeper truck.
Until then, I have to get to work on this:
1999 Explorer rear axle, 8.8 limited slip 3.73 with disc brakes. Going to try to keep the Explorer features with the third shock, and both Explorer and Ranger rear sway bars on disconnects. Planning to mount shocks on same side of axle as well.
I really wanted to convert to the one piece driveshaft, but every single one in the junkyard was messed up. Still looking for one, but don't know if I can get back to the JY before the bad weather starts.
Thanks to all of you that came up with suggestions. The only reason I decided to go this direction was the original intent of the truck - make it the best it can possibly be, while sticking to the original design. Yes, I've added a lot of crap it never had from the factory. However, same as I decided to go forced induction 2.9 instead of the far easier 4.0 swap, I'm sticking with the solid rear axle/TTB front, just with a lot of homebrew solutions for factory issues (like the 2.9's lack of low end grunt).
Correct me if I'm wrong here, please!