'94 F150 5.8 Auto 4X4

Ok i did my reading and research. Seems a few out there are of the opinion that a ecu from a van will work in the truck. Mine is bad and very hard to find so I pose a few questions.

I presume the ecu will have to be for auto trans?
4 wheel drive? is this controlled by the ecu?
If they are compatible? Why so many fifferent ecu's from Ford?

My check eng. light is on
I have to "feather" the throttle to drive it, too much throttle.......no go
Seems to burning very rich or lean as i have alot of black smoke
Tranny is shifting pretty hard but not slamming
Ecu will not produce codes

Also, as I am driving this truck now am I potentially doing some damage to it?
p.s. What a great site! I appreciate all comments.

 

The van and truck ECU's are compatible. Your tranny is controlled by the computer, so you'll need a computer from a truck or a van with a 5.8 and an electronic tranny. The 4wd system has nothing to do with the computer.

ECU's rarely go bad, but if you can't pull codes, that's a good indication it's fried.