I believe BFGs changed the rubber compound a few years back, now they suck. Falkens are good, just not as good as Coopers. Duratracs are good for the first 20k miles.
I wouldn’t be afraid to buy any 1st or 2nd gen LS 4.8, 5.3, or 6.0 with less than 200k miles and swap it in there. Also, I think working on any chevy small block is really a doable for a shade tree mechanic.
If it were me, I’d pull it myself and fix whatever is wrong with it. Id be willing to...