That's been my experience. Years ago someone backed into my Subaru. Their insurance insisted that I go to a shop on their list or accept a check for around $1600. My preferred body shop wanted $2300 (to do it right without cutting corners) which the other insurance refused to pay. So I turned it...
If you're careful with the throttle and rev matching you can shift without a clutch. But it does take practice. Start out slow, rev to about 2,500 then ease off the throttle while putting some tension on the shift lever. Once the gears are unloaded the shifter will move to neutral. The shift...
You could put switches in the windshield trim behind the sunvisor like this guy did.
Look at 23:20 on this video. You'll see a row of switches above the sunvisor. There is a lot of room for wires behind that panel.
Delcity has an excellent selection in switches...
I'd use Rust-oleum Roll Bar and Chassis paint. They claim it's self priming, but I'd use a rust converter under it unless I'm painting shiney metal. Harbor Freight carries it locally.
I have a manual. The only time I played with M or manual mode was at Off-Roadeo. I guess I misunderstood what the instructor told us. I did like how the manual mode worked.
Why are you worried about your brakes if the parking brake is on? You shouldn't be moving.
The M stands for manual low gears, there are two. You don't use them for normal driving, just when off-road and you need more control, especially going down steep hills.
I remember when they charged extra for a radio or electric windshield wipers. I also remember one car, can't remember which, that had aftermarket turn signals, it didn't come from the factory with turn signals. It may have one of my Dad's pickups. JC Whitney sold them. Some cars on the road only...
When I had to drive 4X4s for a living, I prefered manual hubs. Automatic hubs have a tendency to unlock automatically in certain situations. Manual hubs mean you need to plan ahead.
While I was waiting for delivery, the salesman and I used to talk about mileage and trucks in general. We both agreed that it seems to be a law of nature that pickup trucks will get around 15 mpg no matter what engine they have. Seems the same law applies to Broncos.
I keep very careful records. I didn't see any improvement in economy by switching to higher octane. Definitely not enough improvement to justify the higher price.