I wish I had more to report, but the project has been stalled since July due to some higher priority jobs that have to be done.
Before it stalled out, I managed to finish clearing off the front clip and radiator support. The rust in the front clip was as expected, but there was more on the firewall than I had anticipated, so whether I like it or not, the engine is coming out so I can thoroughly inspect the firewall. There have been some revisions to my plan over the last few months. The biggest of which will be a conversion to a C6 auto and possibly power steering depending on what parts I can round up. I've also given up on having a driver any time soon. Since I have to have it apart for repairs, I might as well do what upgrades I can while its apart and save myself from having to tear it apart again.
As soon as time allows, I plan on starting to gut the cab in preparation for welding on the firewall. This will give me a number of smaller jobs that I can tackle in the garage as I am able. If it turns out that the cab is too far gone, I'll start looking for a better one to replace it with.
I now understand what I've read in so many car magazines over the years - "It started off as a simple freshening up that got out of hand."
I have been working on mine for so long I and not sure what I have anymore. 
