318 Rebuild suggestions?

I tell you what; if you are forfeiting a 360 for fuel mileage, that would be a false economy.
The long stroker can make more torque,more horsepower a AND better fuel mileage. Unfortunately, if you drive it to take advantage of the power, well, there goes the economy.
I have a 360 that at one time was tuned to get over 32mpgUS with a 223*cam, so I know it's possible. IMO, I wouldn't waste my time with a teener;it's just too small for a Dakota.
The Dak does OK in first gear with 3.91s. But it's really fooling you.The MPI injected engines like in my 92,were a little better, but it worked awful hard to keep up. It was a 4x4 tho.....I think it scaled at 7 million pounds,lol. Awful heavy for such a little truck.