Thanks  for the write up, lots of info. One question I have is how do I know where to weld the mounting tabs on the tierod so the cylinder travels equally in both directions?

Turn the steering whee so the tires point straight forward.  Take your ram and pull it out so that half of the ram's travel is showing.  Most use a 6" ram so make sure 3" of chrome rod is showing.  Make sure your passenger side mount is as far over to the passenger side as possible.  I made that mistake once and ended up bending the frame, bump stop brackets, bending a tie rod, and busting the chrome rod out of the ram.  Once I got everything fixed, I mounted it closer to the passenger side U bolt plate