Ok, just an update, in case you were all sitting around waiting in anticipation for me to post...haha....
Ok, found a local guy thats going to do the labor (upper Control arms, lower ball joints) for $175 total labor..(epic...)
Now, he said I'll have to get it aligned after he does that, but now Im thinkin....damn....can you get it aligned with funky tires? Wouldnt that negate the alignment, if I bought new tires? I mean...would I have to get it Re-RE-aligned when I buy new tires, or is alignment not drastically affected by the tires???
Im an idiot...help!

 

The tires shouldn't effect the alignment geometry. It may still pull or vibrate with bad tires, but not from the alignment itself. As long as the front end components are good, it will be right.

 

Yup, the alignment is to make sure that the wheels are setup and at the proper angles. New or replacement tires should only need to be re-balanced.
$175 for labor for all ball joints! hell's yeah, that's a great deal.
Also, as far as alignments go, some chain stores will offer 12 month / 12,000 mile warranty on them. I used to get that at Pep Boys ($69 for a one time alignment versus $99 for a year of alignments). Something to check into, especially if the roads around you are in bad shape. You will want to get an alignment done pretty soon after the upper BJ and control arms are replaced because where the control arms bolt to the frame is where most, if not all, adjustments are made for the alignment. So even if you still have the bumpy tires on the steering and handling will be terrible.

 

thanks Ixman, thanks Casey...yeah, 175$ is crazy cheap...hope he isnt a flake, and knows his stuff...if so, then hes made a longterm customer....
Guess Ill change out the BJ's, get it aligned, and go from there...
thanks again

 

Hope all goes well Veidtmeister, very glad you are getting your truck fixed up Does this guy work at a shop or own his own shop, or is he a working out of his own garage? A couple months ago I ran across a guy with 2500 CTD and he had a "backyard mechanic" do all his ball joints for about a hundred bucks and it was a good quality job. From what he said it was just a guy with good mechanic skills with nothing better to do (maybe retired) so he didn't really care that it was an all day job, he just wanted something to do. Sometimes you get lucky and find a good mechanic like that.
Keep us update!