I finished restoring the heater control tonight. I wound up swapping in a new fan switch because the original one was really stiff and felt like it was going to break. I spend a lot of time getting the levers nice and free, and they work and feel great. I did not want to respray the face because I want to leave the interior sheet metal in it's slightly-pantina'd condition.
I am working on a slight twist to the normal operation of the heater control. The issue I have always had with the design of the A/C system on these trucks is the fact that the heater core is always at the coolant temperature (180 degrees+) and the outside fresh air supply has to go past the heater to get inside the inside air box. I want to use the second post on the "Temp" lever to actuate a cable to shut off the water supply to the heater. So when the lever is at the coldest setting, the cable will shut the water valve on the heater hose in the engine compartment, and coolant is no longer flowing to the heater core. I have a feeling that it might make a difference when the A/C is running. We'll see......