I put the new steering box and pitman on G's truck today.
If you check the pic after the jump, you can see the difference in the angle of the pitman.
Both boxes are near exact on center, but the one on the left has the pitman arm off by several degrees. There is a reference mark on the input splines (bottom on pic). Also the new pitman looks like it might squiggle over a little more than the other (new) pitman. I didn't notice that until looking at the pic.

These vehicles are designed by engineers, modified by bean counters, and assembled by robot monkeys, so the system is pretty much foolproof. The pitman only goes on one way, the steering coupler/column only goes on one way. Ta-da. Straight wheel, centered box.
The new pitman on the other box didn't even fit on all the way. I was right about the variable ratio box. She had one. Now she has a regular one, so now new parts 'should' always fit ;)
(monotone: New Parts Always Fit And Are Never Defective.)

The steering still doesn't feel quite right to me. It might just be my paranoid imagination, so I'd like to check it against a similar truck, like G's husband's :)
I quadruple checked the front end parts and still see nothing loose. Remember I was ASE certified for 10yrs and have 15yrs exp. The only thing i thought I saw was some frame flex. I don't think it's normal, but I could be wrong. There is a crossmember below the radiator which I can see bow slightly as the steering turns back/forth. I tried to check for cracks in the frame, but I don't have a lift to get a really good look. It's prob'ly just me being paranoid anyway. If the frame checks out fine, maybe we'll put a steering dampener on it.