Which year?

[RNichols]

I'm a college student and plan on purchasing my first Dodge/cummins within the next year. The number one thing I'm wanting is a vehicle that I can drive for the next one or two decades with as little maintenance problems as possible. Being that reliability is my first and foremost concern, I am unsure which year(s) Dodge I should focus my search on.
As far as the first generations, I like the NP205 gear driven transfer case combined with the manual locking hubs, but I've heard the Getrag transmission isn't as reliable as the NV4500 or the NV5600. I've also heard that the first generations made before '91.5 didn't have an intercooler, which is definitely a negative.
I've heard that the 2nd generation 12 valves have the best injection pump offered with a cummins (P7100) compared to the 24valve. But other people have told me there's really no difference in dependability between the 12v and the 24v (although more electronics seems to mean less reliable to me).
Finally, I've heard the 6-speed tranny on the 24v is stronger than the 5-speed on the 12v, but others have said that the 5-speed is just as reliable as long as the 5th gear retaining nut problem is fixed (I'm not considering an auto).

I know this may be splitting hairs and getting a little nit-picky, but I'm really curious as to the general consensus on which Dodge/cummins set-up offers the most reliable service considering engine, manual tranny, and the components of everthing else on the truck. Thanks for the advice.


-Rob