Did some quick checking for the calipers and still can't confirm the caliper thing. No one seems to ofer a basic caliper, only calipers w/ brackets.
When I enter it online I get pn 14-1002.
I just noticed this part of your post. My searching tells me that for the 95-97 Rangers, that would have been a 4wd bracket. They probably consolidated to have a single part on later models. The 2wd part number for 95-97 would be 14-1053.
It sounds like you only ordered a caliper bracket, was that the 14-1002?
What calipers are you using?
Will your caliper mount to the 14-1002 bracket you have? If so they will likely fit the 14-1053 as well considering that the same pads were used for 2wd and 4wd.
Personally I'd try to return the brackets you have and order a pair of 95-97 2wd calipers through RockAuto. Those brackets are going to cost you $35/ea locally. A complete caliper with bracket is going to be about $40/ea including the core charge. Plus you can use the 5% discount code. That said I know RA's shipping speed to me and, if I ordered today, I'd have them by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. I'd spend the weekend taking out the old and prepping for reinstall. Even if I started going back together, the calipers would arrive before I was ready for them.
After thinking about it some more, I don't think anything ever said that the 2004 Sport Trac caliper brackets were needed. May I ask where that bit of information was found?