LM7 and 4l60E have arrived . Build thread will follow.

Since Steve is tied up at the body shop until after my trip to Deals Gap I needed to put sealing tape on the topper. Good old Amazon $35 for a nice roll of EPDM camper tape. I spent 2 hours with a drill and wire wheel and got the old adhesive and oxidation off of the topper rails and wiped them down with Brake Kleen. My friend FrankB came over and we heated up the rails with my heat gun before laying down the new tape. The tape ain't going anywhere and the reinstallation was straightforward. I am quite impressed with the tape.

I am pleased to report the GMC performed flawlessly with a camper stuffed full of spare parts, toolboxes and canopies towing 3 bikes on the trailer. I averaged 15 MPG with the cruise set on 77 MPH.

Last Saturday I had a no start problem. Initially I thought the lock cylinder had failed as it would intermittently start if I juggled the key and turned the ignition on and off.
Given the truck has a tilt wheel and I have never taken all that mess apart I called my good friend Dennis Corder who does mechanical jobs beyond my knowledge. He told me to get the mechanical part of the ignition switch( lock cylinder) and the electrical part of the ignition switch that mounts near the bottom of the steering column. O'REILLYS had both in stock, Standard's best lifetime warranty. Total for both about $80 with the retired military discount.
Dennis showed up on Sunday in his roll-back and got it started. Since he lives 10 minutes away I told him to just leave it running so he could drive it into his air conditioned shop when he got there. It was hot as blazes here last Sunday.
As it turns out the electrical switch had worn out and come to pieces inside. He swapped the new one in and I kept the new lock cylinder in case it ever fails. The truck starts good as new.

GrimsterGMC said:

One thing I will point out to you is that seal will not only wear through the paint in short time but will also wear through the metal beneath it. As you are driving the movement between the deck and the canopy will generate a sideways motion at the seal. I made an aluminium trim that sat over the top edge of the tailgate and fixed to the inside edge but sat slightly proud of the paint on the outside and made it short enough that you can barely see it below the seal, and that now has grooves worn into it from the rubber seal.

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I finally got around to ordering a stainless tailgate protector from LMC truck. $72.38 shipped. It will be here in a few days. Thanks again for the advice.