Knowing the history is a selling point. You might save yourself $2000 parting out the '09, but if you can sell it for $6k you're $4000 ahead. $4000 will make up for a lot of headache. Also, you're in Oklahoma where trucks are worth money, so if it's pretty clean and runs and drives well enough to be a daily driver, it's worth $6000.Part of my reasoning for possibly doing it that way is knowing the history of the truck and knowing I have everything I need from the donor. Thought it might be easier. This will be my first engine swap where I wasn't putting the factory intended engine back in so I'm trying to keep the number of headaches down as much as possible. I know I will still probably spend a lot of time trying to get it going.
I want a 6.0 and 4l80 but I also never pull anything that the 5.3 can't handle with ease and I in Oklahoma so no mountains to worry about. I've been driving the 09 with the 5.3 for a few years and never felt like it didn't have enough power. The extra expense up front and the hit on gas mileage doesn't seem worth it. If I needed a tow rig I'd step up to a 3/4 or 1 ton. This is going to be mostly a daily driver, light offroader. I bought the 92 when I was 17, I'm 38 now, and they'll bury me in this truck. But it does need some love. She's all original and showing her age. When I priced out everything to rebuild, roller cam, ebl flash 2, throttle body stuff, etc.. to get her a little more pep you're spending as much as an LS swap. That's not even including new heads. I don't know. Hard to decide. The TBI is certainly simple and reliable, but it just feels like such a dog I don't know if I'd be happy with the results after doing all that.
Hit up Pull-A-Part. They have so many 5.3s that you almost can't walk down an aisle without tripping on one. Every now and then they even have a 6.0. You'll have to hit up Marketplace to find a 4L80. Prefer a wrecked donor? Hit up CoPart - but don't bid any more than half what you want to. Their fees are high and what you get is usually worse than it presents.
I also agree that 5.3s are fairly gutless for towing. They'll get the job done, but I'd rather have the old small block or a 6.0.