is my transmission on the way out?

dodge guy wrote:
If not the TC then you may have an intermittent misfire, either a plug or coil. And knowing Fords more than likely a coil is on it's way out. It may be to random to set a CEL.......yet!

Correct.

The symptoms described are the same that I had with my 2003 5.4, ran smooth as silk during idle and even light acceleration but as soon as I started climbing a hill and had to step on the gas it started shaking (surging/bucking around 40-50 MPH).

Never set the CEL light and that was after driving 50 miles from work to home.

Took it to my Ford dealer and they put it on their "machine" (IE a hand held device which reads the diag port). Gave misfire codes but couldn't pin it down to which cylinder.

They had to take a new COP (Coil) and put it on each cylinder to determine which COP was bad.

You should be able to take your truck to to some of the car parts places and they should be able to read the stored codes, should get a misfire code.

You may need to simply buy a new coil and try it on each cylinder.

You may even be able to spot the bad coil when you pull it off, typically the case cracks around or near the bolt holes.

I would recommend buying some new "boots", I had several which where STUCK, ruined one while changing plugs and had to make a trip back to the parts store to get new ones.

I would recommend blasting the plug hole with air before putting the boot back in (watch your eyes on this as dirt will fly)..