As much as I hate a 700r4 or 4L60E they were worlds better than the AOD or the later electronic version of it 4R70?. The OBD1 Furds are a royal pain with goofy junk like EGR valve position sensors and that stupid cigarrete pack shaped frequency MAP sensor. I still have the tool to change those TFI modules that make the GM HEI modules look absolutely reliable. The suspension on ALL Fords is JUNK. I cannot even begin to count how many times you would be driving behind one of those hoopties even 25 years ago and the thrust angle was off so far that riding in the passenger seat going down the road behind one, you were looking at the whole driverside and all 4 tires.
Oooohh that TFI module. The one that when it goes bad, often a symptom is a really high idle, like 1500 RPM.
Surely a piece of anecdotal evidence, but comparing GMT400's to similar-era Fords, as much as Ford claims to be #1 selling truck and blah blah blah for all eternity, how many of those Fords do you still see on the road? A lot less, IMO. And trust me I'm looking for them because on the rare occasion I do see one, I'll text my Ford-loving buddy just to break his balls about it. "Hey I finally saw another old Ford and it was actually running!"
Ford engineered things to be purposefully difficult to service, there's FAR less interchangeability between years and models, just ask the guy who's tried to build one of the engines and has parts sitting around from a few different years. Sure, you could find those examples in GMT400-land too, but not nearly as many.
I'm not 100% brand-loyal - I've owned a lot of vehicles, and yes, most have been GM (mostly Chevy/GMC, couple old Cadillacs), but have owned several late model Mopars, a couple classic BMW's and a Jaguar (Chevy-powered), but never.. NEVER.. owned a Ford. and never will.
Richard