In 98 I bought a first year 7.3.

..awesome truck. This 6.7 has been 'common sense' engineered, cutting back on wasted exhaust routing, 2nd or 3rd generation high pressure fuel delivery (gm also using).. I believe this engine/transmission will be reliable and set a new standard for diesels. Ford knows that it's rep is on the line... pretty soon you'll see 2011's hooked up to hot shots, car haulers, rolling and cutting back on operating costs. Everyonce in a while you'll hear of a hose or belt breaking, maybe a more serious problem as all manufacturers get their fair share with humans involved. I don't think I need to worry about head studs, egr coolers, lessons learned.
Now D'Maxed... I would be concerned about the engineers comments "We've stretched the 6.6 pretty thin" comment even though the unit has been around.