The engine itself may be similar but the vehicle it is in is completely different. There is nothing similar between the T1 and the older trucks. The fenders being so insanely high and the engine being pretty far down and back in the engine bay are the biggest issue with working on these. The radiator and fans are extremely close to the engine now and are not easy (compared to the old body styles) to remove. You have to remove all of that and the whole front grille/fascia to get the engine out. The old stuff is far easier to work on. No one wants to work on the new ones over the old ones. And they don’t pay well.
No one wants to work on them? It's just a learning curve. Taking the fascia off isn't terrible when you have all the clips on hand. Warranty never paid well. Hopefully you get good enough to beat book time otherwise you will starve.
Underneath it's not terribly different from the previous generations . sure you have IRS but the rest is similar enough.
I felt the same way about the v8 fwd models and transmission removal. After a few its cake like anything else.
Other then occasional lifters the rest have been pretty solid. Some had bad engine wiring harness that ate a few peoples lunch.
Its less about being easy and more about being different. Like the work vans. Look thru the top and looks unappealing. Doghouse and underneath are wide open.
I think the real issues are steaming from electrical diagnosis. Most techs are insanely weak at it. In my shop we would specialize. We had interior guy, heavy line guy , engine guy , and electrical guy.
Compared to the rollout in 2007 and again in 2015 it's much improved. Fenders have always been insanely high for me and im not short.
Your views are interesting thanks for sharing!