Rebuilding stepside 81 K10

Hi, my name is Seth Robins and I'm currently working on rebuilding a 81 step-side Chevy K10.  It's not in bad shape nor is it in great shape.  The frame is sound and so is most of the underbody: the axles, transmission, new suspension, front end is good, new steering gear box, differentials are satisfactory.  But the body is pretty much shot, alot of rust and holes in the floorboard of the cab and such.  The transfer case is leaking bad enough i can't keep fluid in it.  The engine is in bad shape, but i'm having that remidied this weekend, dropping in a brand new crate 350, with all the works.  However my wiring is not so hot.  My A/C is gone, but who cares about that?

Ok, so here's my question:  I'm just wondering if there is anyone else out there who has rebuilt anything similar and how much you put into it money wise and how long it took, and maybe if you can give me some pointers.  I'm doing this on a budget, i'm in college, but i'm not broke either.  I need to get it running so i'm looking at spending about $3000 to get the new engine, i've already spent $1200 on the suspension, and prob about $1000 on miscellaneous stuff.  After i drop in the engine, i'll probably have about $1000 left to take care of any serious essentials i need now (looking for suggestions on what to do with that and how to spend it wisely).  Then i'll have about $300-$400 a month i can put in it.  So i'm just curious as to what it took someone to get their truck to where you have it now and what kind of things i should concentrate on first and maybe some suggetions on where i can go to get stuff done,  I live near Houston, TX by the way.

     is there alot of rust in that part of texas? i would try to find a different cab with better wiring. you can go as new as 86' for one. 87s had fuel injection so the wiring is different. then maybe swap that aluminium np208 transfer case for a np205. then maybe a 3/4 ton axle swap, then maybe a dana 60 front axle , then maybe a bigger lift, then maybe a bigger set of tires, then maybe a set of lockers, then maybe......  you get my drift. it's really up to you. but a trans swap may be in order too. if it's a 700r4 overdrive maybe when you change transfer cases you might want to change the trans to a th350 or th400. just make sure that you get the trans and case together as they take different versions of the same transfer cases respectively.you may also want to read DRIVETRAIN QUESTION PLZZZZZZ, PRICES OF AXLES AND SHACKLE FLIP QUESTION [FEB 6] ANDHELP WITH BLAZER PROJECT [JAN 29]