Lots of people have used the 5.2 and are happy with it in an A body. They run pretty hard and are great little engines. Do a search here.
Basically what I am advising is find a complete 2wd truck, regardless of if it’s obd1 or obd2 and use everything from it. It will make the swap simple require very little to make it run in an a body. When swapping transmissions, flashing ecu’s, de pinning and changing sensors all between obd1 and 2 it will require time and lots of reading in factory service manuals to get it all correct. You’re on a timeline so my advice is to push the easy button.
