I would hold out, that truck is going to have other issues due to wear and tear on other items. I would give the truck to my family and buy a 07.5 and up gasser. I got the 09 with 6 speed and 6.0 and love it over my old 1500HD like you have. If your truck pulls fine with the load now, u will really like the increase in HP with the newer 6.0, and the 6 speed is icing on the cake. But that's my take cause that is what I did. A diesel is great to pull with but when it breaks man does it hurt. U can find a newer style gas truck a lot cheaper now with low miles. Just my opinion. Good luck on your search!