Diesel truck question

[bottledbird68]

My only issue with the duramax is I've never been a fan of isuzu products and the fact that you can't get a solid front axle in any of them. I think gm really dropped the ball there.
So that's leaving me at a cummins or a powerstroke. Been for a ride in a healthy stroke before, and well, there's joes truck lol.
My biggest issue there is if the powerstroke is so great then why do they offer kits to swap in a cummins?
But, I have an intense dislike for dodge automatic trannies. So I'm in a quandary lol. I'm leaning towards a 94 up cummins truck with a stick. But the fords are much cheaper and easier to come by. Not sure what to do but want to research and be sure I'm happy cause whatever I get will be the base of my next project after the 68 is done so I can't exactly trade it in for something else if I'm not happy...