Finally finished the install. After trying to make the radio fit in the dash and removing it to cut plastic, I discovered that a wire came loose from the iPhone cable pin connector. I swapped the radio for a new unit and the install went smoothly from there.
Here's how much I removed from the dash to make it fit
I installed a switch to bypass the Pioneer safeguard requiring me to apply the parking brake, release it, then reapply to access certain apps. Now I just flip the switch back and forth. I put it in that useless space beside the driver side vent.
To use this switch take a simple toggle switch and wire the ground to "ground" and attach the parking brake wire from the Appradio to the "load" on the switch. Leave the other pin empty. I grounded my switch on a dash bolt where the cab fuse panel is located on the driver side:
Thanks to another's comment this time around I just ran the GPS antenna from the dash user the vin plate down through the defrost vent to the radio:
It took two dash kits to make this thing look right in the dash. One was a Metra kit but it was a pain because you had to cut several pieces of plastic off to find the specific fit for the truck. In the end the plastic was too thick for the supplied screws to reach the radio! I ended up getting a Scoshe 92-up GM kit that fit the sides like a glove, then used the front plate from the Metra kit to fill any gaps in the front of the radio:
Finally I bought a Pro Clip brand iPhone dash mount. I was already balls deep in this radio so what's another $125 right?! Don't know if the mount is worth that, but it does allow the iPhone cable to remain plugged into the mount, and the iPhone slips in and out of the cradle so I don't have to wear out the radio iPhone cable. It's an incredibly well built setup though:
So far I like the Appradio. I will admit that the unit is still a little buggy, but Pioneer has updated it several times since its release in Aug of 2011. That's the beauty of this radio. You can update it with a microSD card and with new apps being released its like a whole new animal.
Siri works too though not by design. I haven't played with it enough, but sometimes Siri comes through the mic and speakers and other times I have to speak up for her to hear me. I use her to make a quick phone call. I'd like to see Pioneer add a favorite numbers list in the phone. It's a pain to scroll through numbers and not too safe. With Siri I tell her who to call and she dials the digits. Once the call is connected the speakers and mic kick in. They're already hacking this radio to allow it to run windows. Some have even managed to get Internet explorer rolling on it.