Can't remember if it was mentioned, but as you are at the water pump, replacing the timing chain with a double roller set is about $50 and a good investment.

plenum, water pump, and timing chain is not too bad. as long as you take your time, label both ends of every single wire and hose you remove... take your time and don't get in a hurry, and don't drink too many adult beverages.... its not too bad.

you will need a torque wrench and harmonic balance puller. you can rent/borrow the puller for free or buy for $20. you might can rent/borrow a torque wrench, not sure, or buy a cheap one for $20. not a bad idea to have one. also need a cheap 3/8 fuel line disconnect. $5-10.

my truck ran a hell of a lot better with a new timing chain.

the things most likely to go wrong and cause the whole thing to suck is broken bolts in the intake manifold. to reduce the odds of this, soak them multiple times with pb-blaster or other penetrating oil

Thermostat housing gasket? Mine appeared to be leaking from the center of the intake as well. Do a 180 thermostat to keep it nice and cool

Someone please helpme. Hadno problem taking all accessories, fuel rail, bracket, and throttle body from the away from the intake manifold. However, I have removed 11 bolts from the manifold. I think that is it, but after trying to remove intake manifold, and not succeeding, I assumed there must be more somewhere. So I checked, and sure enough, there seems to be a bolt right under the distributgor and housing. So Ihave removed the dist cap, but now I think I needto stop. Does this bolt right under the dist capneed to come out? If so, I suppose I will have to go after it with a 13mm open end wrench. If not, how do I get the manifold from the block. Please help......I am EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED.

Don't pull the bolt at the distributor. Go to the FAQ/DIY section and download service manual. Also download parts manual. I cannot remember how many bolts ther are, but the one at distributor will allow disty to move, therefore, messing up fuel sync.

There are 12 bolts IIRC. 6 on each side in the same locations. Those are the only ones you need to remove. Like gdstock said download the service manual. Otherwise you are about to screw up big time. If you haven't done this before...never mind that..."Always use the manual".

Thanks....i felt around back there and felt the intake manifold budge as i lifted upwards....however, I think i know what the problem is. When I was taking away the front bolts when i first started....the very first bolt on the passenger side front...snapped off while i was removing. I looked dead on it, and I saw that the it was still visible (a good portion of the bolt thread was still in the manifold). I was intending to use new manifold bolts anyway, but i think this is why i am not getting the clearance to remove the manifold. How do I get this piece of bolt out of the intake so that I can remove it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Again, thank you aqll for the replies. This has been kinda fun, up until this part. It has not even been all that difficult. But now I am just SOOOO tired of this, and want to bring this to a close. I will stop for tonight, await suggestions, and pick back up ASAP tomorrow.

as said, do NOT loosen the distributor.

so, does the intake lift straight up? it should.
and is it hitting the bottom of the distributor housing before it clears the broken bolt?

No... I think broke off bolt in front did not clear enough......I think I will have to resolve this first
Any suggestions

That's the exact same bolt I snaped. Common issue. I used an easy out. My manifold would not come out untill I removed that bolt. Don't worry everything will work out.