thanks for all the feedback. i went with my gut and all of your input and walked away from the deal in search for the v8.
nice choice!
i meant to respond to your post before but got busy. I came from a V6 4Runner (still have it) and the V8 is a big reason why I jumped from Toyota to Ram. In my application, I have added approximately ~800lb of gears, bumper, armors, and other things to my 4R that the gas mileage was as bad as the V8 Lexus GX that is carrying approximately the same amount of weight. I was experiencing low power to the wheel (even with regear) and had to "step on it" a lot just to keep up with the freeway traffic. Probably what contributes to the poor gas mileage, to be honest.
I learned that, with a bigger engine, the amount of "step on it" to get it going with the stuff I'm carrying will be a lot less as I won't need to make up for the lack of power through revving it high. And V8s are just smoother in day to day operation as well.