Dak, my suggestion on the stick shift was based on talking to a couple of Dodge truck owners when I was shopping around for a diesel myself. They were driving slightly older trucks, so maybe the new autos have been improved. I've put over 30km's on my '10 GMC Duramax/Allison with no problems so far and the truck will get 30mpg's(imp) on the highway if cruising at 90km(55 mph approx).

Half of communication is listening. You can't listen with your mouth.