Oh man, did you at least get the truck going? Those old 7.3s have a mind of their own sometimes.

Gas forges get a bad rap for no good reason. That control over the atmosphere is the whole point, you can dial in exactly what you need for each steel. averyc94's friend probably just didn't have his gas setup figured out yet. Fighting with a tool for months means you're still learning it, not that the tool is bad. A well tuned gas forge removes so many variables that coal introduces. It lets you focus on the work instead of constantly managing the fire.

Ever notice how this happens everywhere, like with @uma659 said about the panel lying? People skip the last check because they trust the system too much, but the system is just a tool. That final walk is what actually gets the job done right.