I had to drop my tank because it had a leak in it, of course when gas prices were up to $3.50 a gallon. I wanted to replace the fuel sending unit while I had it down, but my friends talked me out of it, saying it's something like $200. I listened to them, and, my luck, the pump died like 2 weeks later. Luckily, I had broken all the nuts and bolts loose earlier, so it only took a few hours instead of a lot of hours...
It'll take a while, and get something soft for your back, you'll need it. Impact wrench and new nuts/bolts/washers and a lotta gruntwork and it'll be done. And if your truck's anything like mine, get some clear safety glasses/goggles. Every little thing I did sent dirt and junk into my face. Oh, and if you can, find a Chilton's or a Hanes manual. They'll give you some pretty pictures and a few good paragraphs on doing it.
Something my dad said when I finally crawled out from under the bronc, covered in grease, dirt, grime, and bloody knuckles: "There's no feeling quite like the one of satsifaction of doing the work on your own vehicle yourself."
Bolts and everything, I used Grade 8's from a hardware store with BLUE locktight, in case I do have to take it back down. Skideplate, like JSM84 said, as long as it's mostly in one peice, it shouldn't matter. The straps I got from a vehicle radiator repair shop. Don't ask, I don't know why they had em, but my boss knew they did, so I grabbed em when I could. And the pump I got from Autozone, for about $200, $160ish if you have the discount card or whatever. I went for the "lifetime warrenty" pump, simply becasue I don't see a future without the bronc. I'll be buried in it, if I have my way, haha.
Good luck, for me it was a long dirty job with a lot of cursing involved.
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