Thanks again to all for help. A coda to my truck-finding/buying experience...
For anyone who might come across this thread and is looking for a truck in 2020, a few thoughts:
Despite my [over]preparedness, I probably was overthinking this. And, any other time that would've been ok. However, I was not prepared for the current market and, in the end, had a harder time coming to a decision b/c my research, etc. could not overcome the current truck-buying environment. By this I mean, my research prepared me to choose between lots of different trucks currently available on the lot. With plants shut down for a couple/few months, new truck availability is limited. I heard many times that a truck that was "in transit" had already sold before it was even on the lot. I even expanded my range to 500 miles and STILL couldn't find what I wanted -- mind you, for a new truck, I was being a bit particular since spending that kind of $$ I didn't want to "settle". I even had a dealer out of state tell me they wouldn't even sell me the truck they had b/c they wanted to keep for their local buyers -- an understandable position, but not one I necessarily expected since car sellers are usually trying to, you know, sell the car. But in this market, there are plenty of buyers.
I had first wanted to get used, but quickly found that market not entirely ripe with options either. the USED car market is way up. in fact, Edmunds reported that in July, the price of a used large truck in particular was up around $2,500! That was the highest increase of any class. There are many explanations for why this market is the way it is, but I had not anticipated that. So, I started looking at new, but as I said above, it was also not what I expected. Mind you, there are trucks on the lot in many places. And, many of those probably would've been ok. But I just didn't want to drop $60k on a truck that I felt "meh" about. Perhaps that's stupid vanity. Oh, and thought about ordering... a GM truck is 12-16 weeks out, Ram 8-12. That might've been fine but I'm on a timeline and didn't want to risk getting the truck days before we travel -- or worse, not get it at all.
I finally found a 2019 GMC 2500 SLT diesel with just 8,000 miles. I bought it. It too does not have everything I would've wanted in a *new* vehicle, but it should do everything I need it to. So, it was a value... probably, maybe. At this point, I really sort of didn't care.
