I've got a 1998 xlt 4cyl auto that was wrecked last year (T-bone on passenger side), Ive found a 97' extended cab with a blown motor for a reasonable price I'm going to buy. What I need are opinions of how I should go about things, would it be best to pull the motor and tranny outta my 98 and put It in the 97? Or harvest the good body parts off the 97 and put on my 98?

Kiss everything but the electronics and drivetrain goodbye on that 98. There's no fixing a tbone.

That's what I figure, she's dog trotting bad. My wheelbase is now 113" on the side that was hit as opposed to 111.5 for the driver side. I'm assuming I'll have to swap my wiring harness and computer to the 97 correct?

I'm not entirely sure what you'd need to swap from 97 to 98. In 98, the Ranger had a lot of changes made to it, starting the fourth generation. 93-97 is the third generation.

It would take a lot of work, but you could swap the entire wiring harness from the 98 into the 97.