Yes, in 1998 Rangers PATS was just an option for V6 models, most didn't pay extra for that
In 1999 and up all V6 Rangers had PATS as standard feature, the 4cyl models didn't get it until late 2001 with the 2.3l Duratec models
There is no "for sure" way to match PCM or GEM by year, Ford never released that info
Best bet is to match part numbers on the PCM and GEM
Usually the LAST numbers/letter on the part number reference the software loaded so try to match that
PCM part numbers have year and model as the first set of "numbers"
For 1998 PCM it would look like this F87F-12A650-XXX
F8 = 1998, F7 would be 1997
7 = Ranger or Mazda B-series
F = electronic part
12A650 = Ford PCM part number, STILL USED today, so not specific to Ranger or any Ford model, or any year
The XXX is the one you need to match, it will be specific to engine size and manual or automatic transmission
And Ford never released any info on these "numbers", so all there is to go on is other peoples numbers
Most wrecking yards will write down what vehicle a PCM came out of, i.e. 1998 ranger 3.0l manual
You can confirm "1998 Ranger" from part number on it
But you have to rely on wrecker for the "3.0l manual" part
Manual or automatic trans is a big deal, and a big difference inside PCMs, so that has to match your vehicle
As is engine size for obvious reasons
2WD or 4x4 doesn't matter to PCM in any year
Just a heads up
In 1999 Ford changed YEAR and MODEL designations for part numbers
F87x was 1998 Ranger
XL5 was 1999 Ranger
X = 1999
L5 = Ranger
Y = 2000
1 = 2001
2 = 2002
ect...
A = 2010
B = 2011
ect....
So 6L5x was a part for 2006 Ranger , BL5x would be 2011 Ranger part