Thoughts on a mid size pickup?

I had a 1998 Dakota 4x4 extended cab with the 5.2 liter. It was perfect as far as I'm concerned and very reliable for 100,000 miles. I'd still be driving it but moved to Wisconsin from Northern California and the salt ripped it apart. After the third brake line failure I traded it in on a new truck. If I could find one with a solid body I'd drop in a 408 with fuel injection and never look back. I'd undercoat the living crap out of it first and drop some cash for nice seats and interior spruce up and be money ahead of anything newer. I was never a fan of the newer body styles with the sharp lines. The 2000s Ford Rangers were nice trucks and you probably won't beat the reliability of a Toyota.