As for the auto tranny behind a 7.3 they were junk. my brother had a 97 that ate 8 yes count them 8 autos in 3 months, it was originally a manual, he got tired of shifting and then sold the truck on #9, tranny cooler and all it still ate them. and you really cant compare torque between a CTD and PS because they are totally different engines and have different designs and reasons for being built. and the only problem with a 7.3 IDI turboed is that they werent meant to havea turbo on them, if you rebuild one and spend the 1500-2500 to make it hold then you might as well buy a PS or a remaned CTD. and this is kinda like comparing my dads 89 7.3 IDI to my cummins with mods. he gets better fuel mileage but i probably could drag him around. he plows mine is a daily driver. Apples:Oranges.

 

Sounds to me you were letting the wrong guy rebuild your transmissions. Were you buying trannies from a junk yard or what? 8 trannies 3 months tells me someone has more money than brains. I had a stock rebuild (with big coolers) hold up to 400+ hp for 35k miles and 30+ boosted launches at the track and towed 20+k gross almost daily....e4od's arent junk. Im not nice to stuff either, i drive it hard. The only reason the stock build failed at 35k miles was i put much larger injectors in and apparently it didnt like the higher hp.