In no particular order:
Monsta, I believe every word you said. When I was a little negative about add a leafs I was refering to the single, super thick leaf that some lift companies sell as their cheapest lift, but there is a chance that even those would help an Ex because of its limited travel.
Yes, the 2w and 4w use the same rear leafs from 99-04 but there are different springs based on different packages. For the fronts of the 4x there are U, V, W, and X code. The X code is the snowplow package. For the rears there are fewer choices. B & C codes.
How does mine ride? The way it should have from the begining! I put 90k miles on the factory suspension and was really considering trading it off. I had read a lot about the upgrades on this site and others, but was hesitant, practically everybody that posts a mod says it's great but that doesn't mean it really is. My 01 had front bumbstops that were over 4" tall and the horrible factory springs. I drove all those miles with less than ONE INCH of compression travel!! When I swapped the fronts to the V codes I also swapped in the bumpstops from an 03 and now I have over 3" inches of compression! Now when I go over bumps I can actually feel the suspension work. I can now go into driveway approaches without my seatbelt on and not get thrown out of the seat. On the rears the B codes will give you depending on full empty tank and cargo from 3/4 to an 1 1/2 of increased lift and travel. You get more capacity but a lighter compression per inch, thus the expansion joints and manhole covers and speed bumps don't casuse the rear to break traction and cause "rear steer". But most important for the rear is to install an antisway bar if you don't have one. Read that last sentence twice!! There are guys that pioneered these mods and did all the heavy work, I just broke down and did it before I spent enough on another new truck to put my daughter through college. If you want to PM me I will send you to some threads that cover this better than I can.
PS for those that read this that know Bruce1954 yes I learned it all from him.
Good luck all,
Jeff