wow guys, I knew I came here for a reason. Thanks for all the great advice. After a little more thought last night, I remembered that it's about a 6% grade coming into the area where I live, so I guess I'll get a lot of experience with "grade" driving. I really appreciate all the input and look forward to more conversations, help and maybe at some point being able to pass on something useful myself. And by the way, I have a 2012 Ford F150 super crew with the towing package. I have used the towing mode before with my boat and truly believe that the engine will do most of the work going down grades.
thanks again