One thing I have found on my truck and the six others my company owns is when an electrical component goes bad, check the connections first! I have saved thousands just cleaning connections that have gone bad. Most recently it was an alternator. The driver said the idiot light came on for it and the code came up as a bad alternator circuit. I checked the connections; both on the alternator itself and the in-lin ones. While it wasn't DIRTY, it wasn't shiny either, so I gave it a whirl with some contact cleaner and a brass brush, put it back together and started the truck. No more light, no more code.
Another time we had no taillights on a gooseneck. Well, the taillights worked, the brakes worked as did the charging circuit so I got under the truck and checked the connections. got the same three working but still no go on the turn signals and brakelights. I wound up tracing the line upstream and found another connector (two, actually) just below the driver's door inside the framerail... paydirt. cleaned it up and we were back in business.......
And while it may be obvious to most of us here, one important thing to remember is to disconnect your batteries BEFORE cleaning the electrical connections.... and clean the posts while you're at it, LOL.
Now, my QUESTION is this: Since I live thousands of miles from any oceanfront property and there is no real "salt air" around here, is this common all over, with Ford? I don't have so much a problem with the Big Trucks.... any Ideas?

 

It's a common problem with all electrical connections IMO.
I've chased plenty of weak circuits on VW and Audi vehicles for the past 23 years. Sometimes it's the engineers fault from what I can see. The connections will get so hot from the load that the plastic housing melts from the heat.
There's a few changes that would be made at the drawing board if I was in charge!!!

 

I agree, some connections are just placed in the wrong spots prone to lots of road debris and grime. Also, most are just weather proof, there are quite a few people who just flat out go boating in their trucks, which is all well and good, just need to keep in mind that if you submerge the connection, it is going to get wet and corrode. I have found that using some dielectric grease around the outside housings helps seal it the extra bit.