Colin:
This really won't help your pain, but.......
When I first read about the 1999 Lightning pickup, I went to my local Ford dealer and placed an order and left a not insignificant deposit.
Several months went by and no truck. My 3d generation SHO lease was up and to keep from having to take the bus to my shop, I kept extending the lease. Not to start an argument, but I really did not like the V8 SHO very much and was really excited about the Lightning.
As luck would have it, or maybe fate, the back door of my business looked out across the street directly at my Ford dealership. So..........every day, I watched the car/truck carriers delivering this batch, that batch and no Lightning.
Perhaps a bit like you, I conjured up a lot of conspiracy theories.
I used to live in Canada for a couple of years...... Maybe the guys and girls at Oakville were getting back at me for returning to the US. Wasn't my fault, I was on a work permit to work for Volvo Canada and after the merger with Volvo of America (Result, Volvo North America) my job disappeared.
Finally, in May, I got my Lightning. A White one to give recognition to one of the historic alcoholic beverages of my now state of Georgia "White Lightning".
In some ways, I wish I had kept the truck. The day it was delivered, I saw it coming off the truck and burned much rubber with my SHO getting from my parking lot to the dealers lot.
Made the trade and did a massive burnout coming out of the dealer's driveway to the cheers of the techs who knew me pretty well.
Got home, had dinner and decided to take the wife for a drive. As it happened, we had a major thunderstorm that evening with lots of "White Lightning", I posted the first test drive impressions on the f150onlineforum and all agreed it was an omen.
As a single driver, I have never enjoyed a vehicle more but it was also a two passenger pickup.
Sadly, when Moby was on the end of her lease, I could see no improvement in the 2002 version and I was getting inundated with grandkids so I made a heck of a deal on an almost year old Lincoln Blackwood that could seat at least four.
Sorry to drift, I think based on my experience with my 2010, you will look at it as time perhaps well spent waiting.
Chimo
Bill