I believe that the duckbills were designed for the military so that it is easier for someone else to get you out when you aren't able to do that yourself.
Since I am recovering from a shoulder replacement and a couple of lame wrists, I took the rig to Kevin's place. Turns out it was the block heater itself rather than the wiring. Off to see a friend at the Blue Oval Store in the morning.
It appears that I have a dead short somewhere in the block heater circuit on my '97 Powerstroke. Each time I plug it into a circuit it immediately pops the GFCI. I have tried 3 separate circuits with the same result.
The good news is the really cold weather is coming to an end for a while...
The first time out in my rig I discovered that the brakes weren't up to the combination of TF99, 4:1 in the transfer case and 5:38s in the axles. Had to convert the rear drums to disc and then everything was fine. Before the rear discs it would pull through the brakes on a steep downhill. Like...
A friend of mine had a similar problem and finally chased down the wiring, starting at the tranny and working backward. He found a spot where something had cut or torn the harness.
Speaking for myself only, Kevin is very used to having someone standing around looking fat and stupid. In fact, I am pretty sure that none of you can live up to the standard I set, on either score.