Just bought this 1988 Sierra w/ a 5.7 4wd - need direction

[mister_gmt400]

Hello all, found this group while searching for solutions.

Would love some help getting pointed in the right direction.
Is there a thread I can read through for newbies like me??

I just picked up this truck for $1250, see attached pics.

Rust is pretty minimal on the body, the frame has some rust on it, but it's pretty solid once you scratch past the flakes of rust. There are some stabilization bars (between frame) that are pretty rough, but main frame looks good.

The engine sounds good, but I haven't been able to put it through it's paces due to a leaky gas tank (almost finished putting a new one in), and worn down brake pads.

The previous owner replaced rings/gaskets 30k miles ago and it shows - engine sounds great, no knocking, no hesitation, it roars.
Body has 220k on it.

Here are the issues I've found so far w/ the solutions I'm considering. Let me know if I'm dead wrong on any of this:
- ignition pops out easily - looking to find a salvaged steering wheel assembly
- turn signal flops around - looking to find a salvaged steering wheel assembly
- rust hole in the gas tank - currently replacing this
- brake pads - replace them
- rust on frame - scrape off the rust and spray with Rust-oleum
- small leakage at the transmission fluid pan - Not sure on this one, I figure it's normal for a truck this old, but not sure, maybe it's the gasket on that pan, see attached pic
- Engine cranks hard without a running car jumping it - crank amps on current batter is ~800, probably the battery, but was wondering if I need to up the cranking amps to reliably crank this?
- engine starts slow, probably due to the tank leakage, but usually takes pouring some gas into the top of the intake to get it going - Waiting on this issue to see how a full tank of gas affects this

What should I watch out for, what kind of issues does this model usually show?

Thanks

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[Dravec]

First of all, welcome to the board! Nice looking old girl you got there.

As far as your problems go:
Trans pan: could possibly be the trans pan gasket, or the oil pan gasket
Battery: 800 cca is more than sufficient to power her
Hard starting: I would seriously consider replacing the fuel pump while you are putting in a new tank. You're already there. After that, look at your fuel pressure regulator.
And I think rebuilding your steering column or rebuilding a junkyard one would fix those problems.

 

[Erik the Awful]

Hard starting: I would seriously consider replacing the fuel pump while you are putting in a new tank. You're already there. After that, look at your fuel pressure regulator.

+1 - You can replace the super-weak TBI fuel pump with the later Vortec fuel pump. My sending unit was also gummed up, so I replaced them as a set with the Vortec pump installed on the TBI sending unit.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

I replaced them as a set with the Vortec pump installed on the TBI sending unit.

Same here, used an AC Delco EP381 pump.