Nothin wrong with mail order tunes by good tuners. BUT it does take a little time going back N forth and you have to own your own software or borrows a friends.
Owning is better.

It took 4 times to get a tune dialed in choice.
Tune 1 started and ran but had a slight hiccup at 4k under mild throttle.
Wot was fine. But needed drive ability solid.
Tune 2 fixed that. Was a tad rich. Leaned it out a little.
Tune 3 did lean out but wanted it a little leaner.
Tune 4. Good to go.

Now no time in this process I couldn't drive the vehicle safely.

 

Get a hoist, pull that motor, tear the heads off and see what you need... Ive got a set of 5.3 pistons, genIV rods, all in perfect shape... Figure out what you need and you can have that thing going in no time for a few hundred bucks! Hopefully the cylinder walls are good! You can have It up and running again in no time!

 

^this. If the walls are good, throw another piston in it. I'd open up the ring gap on the rest while I was in there.

 

5.3 are a dime a dozen 350-400$ the swap is easy in a truck done it 100 times you seem like you have mechanical skills should be easy for you

 

you must be from a populated state. So far the cheapest used 5.3 I've found is $3500 more then a reman. Thanks for the support i plan on pulling the engine beginning of the week if i am slow at work.

 

Wow where are you located? I'm in new Orleans. I know a guy selling one for 800 with 60k miles it's a long block

 

rapid city south dakota. Ill probably end up getting one east river if i go that route. hoping the damage is not going to be to severe so i won't need a whole engine.

 

Anybody know if this hoist from harbor freight will get the job done? It's on sale for $138 if it will work that would be great since its cheap.
1 Ton Capacity Foldable Shop Crane

 

Perfect!

 

GenIII 5.3 are a dime a dozen and in the $500ish range, but the genIV 5.3 are still a bit more... You can find a genIV 5.3 for $800, but For the most part, they're still in the $1000-$1,500 range for a complete motor..... Especially from a junkyard!