Yea, something else went wrong or was going wrong and you probably just happened to speed up an ongoing problem. As long as you were within the rated GVW there's no reason a truck cant keep up with traffic on a long grade.
How hot was the engine temp when it blew? Was that also climbing as you were going up the hill? Unless you had a malfunctioning temp gauge I hope you would have backed down when it started climbing...? How fast did the oil pressure drop and did you back off at all? How old was the oil and coolant?
I agree that a new engine would be worth it, its a clean looking nice truck. A 454 would be a good swap at this point if it doesn't already have one.
How hot was the engine temp when it blew? Was that also climbing as you were going up the hill? Unless you had a malfunctioning temp gauge I hope you would have backed down when it started climbing...? How fast did the oil pressure drop and did you back off at all? How old was the oil and coolant?
I agree that a new engine would be worth it, its a clean looking nice truck. A 454 would be a good swap at this point if it doesn't already have one.