Yes, all Rangers, 1983 to 2012, had throttle cables, none were "drive by wire"

Don't know?
Manual or Automatic?

Does it only make the noise while driving?
Does it make the noise Parked, engine on or off?

 

It's a manual, the only time I hear it is after it has been parked for a while, usually overnight. There's a good size hill heading out of town on the way to work. As I'm cresting it and letting off the gas I hear a noise like a rock being thrown up and hitting the fender. Afterwards everything seems fine. Saw all the videos on slack in the cable line and was wondering if that could cause a noise like that.

 

Won't be throttle cable

U-joint maybe but would expect that noise anytime you let off the gas when in gear.

Check motor mounts like this:
Open hood
Set Parking brake
Start engine
Put in 1st gear, slowly let out the clutch as you watch the engine under open hood gap
It should start to lift on one side, but just a little

Now do the same in Reverse, should lift in opposite direction

So you know what to look for, now do it with a little power and see if you hear a clunk noise when you push clutch in quickly as engine falls back into position, indicating a broken motor mount

Motor mounts allow engine to torque to one side but they can break so engine lifts a bit higher and then when torque is removed, foot off the gas pedal, engine "clunks" back into place