Do all the timing stuff first. The valve seals and gaskets is a separate job. Don't forget timing tensioner, idler pulley, crank and cam seals, in addition to the belt and water pump. Make sure you have the latest crank bolt version in there.

No one has come up with a decent sway bar disconnect for these trucks, as I recall.

Manual hubs are good, but personally, I wouldn't weld the diff, especially if you're going to drop in a locker in back. It'll really show up those Jeeps with that in there.

Bushings in the front end are just a ton of fun (not really). The likely culprits for replacement are idler arm, Pitman arm (steering, obviously) and control arm bushings. Upper control arms usually come as a shaft set, whereas the lowers are individual, two in the lower arm and two in the frame, but the lowers tend to last a while. The ones in the frame are huge and are real work to get in/out.

Welcome to the Wire.

John B.