There is another issue. A year or 2 ago the computer was malfunctioning. It would read the truck was misfiring and tell the transmission to not shift out of 1st to avoid stalling. First time I limped it directly to the auto shop where new plug wires were installed and I was informed of the problem, I thought I needed a tranny. Then it did it again on the way home from the dog park, the next morning it was shifting fine. A third time I just pulled over and turned it off for 15 seconds. This reset the computer and it hasn't happened since. Still because of this I am limited to local driving, I don't trust it to take to Harpers Ferry.
Originally I called a body shop and he said they can't the bed. Then I called a junk yard and they had no dark grey beds, it's a common color and I figured it was only a matter of time but then I stopped calling. The rust is on the deck, a few holes that I cut away the rust and spray painted. Then are now about the size of my fist and close together. Then I found another one a few feet away, I could put my finger through the deck. I got a steal plate about 2' x 4' that I put over the compromised section. It's fine for trips to the dump or yard waste, but I can't load it with gravel or firewood, I had to put the wood around the area.
So given all of this would you fix this truck? Shops can cut away the rust area and patch the deck of a truck bed? Now it's loud, I just prey it's a muffler and not the cat. Not sure I even want to invest in a muffler.