also, i've just replaced the second battery in 6 mos (the first replacement was a used battery however, so that could be to blame) and i'm wondering if some of what i've read about a voltage regulator being on the fritz could be to blame. i have noticed that my amp guage (edit: volt meter) on the dash panel always registers about three quarters to "18 amps" (edit: 18 volts) instead of right around the middle line like all the other guages do. just wondering if anyone has experience to share on the issue. thanks again

How the heck did you get an amp gauge on your truck. It should be a volt gauge. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grin.gif)

Assuming you have the same SR5 gauge cluster as me, then it is a volt meter and the 3/4 reading is normal.
But just to be sure, put a DMM/volt meter on the battery and rev up the engine a bit. It should be around 13.8 volts. Let it idle for 30 minutes or check after a drive to make sure.

whats funny, is that on my way to the office this morning, i looked down at that guage and realized that 3/4 of the way to 18 would be 13.5 and that would be about right for volts...i swear i'm not "that guy", it was just late and i'd been dealing with this dead battery issue that morning..i hope..