There is one huge problem here that hasn't been addressed.
At this stage of this repair with each arguing back and forth--What kind of repair job does anyone
who has followed this thread think this guy will perform?
That's my biggest issue right now. It's a waste of time and money if he can't do that right and I doubt he can, especially when he admitted he did one like it with the thinner space plate last summer and it failed shortly after. I don't want to gamble over $15k on that. As much as it sucks it's why I think I have to write off fixing the truck, at least for now.