Sounds like your mileage is right around mine. You may have the 3.92’s…world of differnce to the 3.55’s I have driven both. I am brand loyal only to dodge/chevy i just fucking hate ford trucks and refuse to ever buy a nissan/toyota pickup. I am suprised you feel that the 5.3’s are nutless though! I had two of them and thought they were great! My hemi is def faster and shows better torque but i was never disappointed in either my 2004 or 2008 5.3… I drove an SS silverado hated it thought it was dog slow and owned an SS trailblazer. The 6.0 is just overrated when put in that platform.