I hita gard rail on the front pass side corner and i just noticed that it pushed a small dent into the front right behind the front suspension. It doesnt look like its out of whack or anything and i am wondering how this would affect the trucks handling or even if its safe or not to drive after i replace the suspension parts. It doesnt look like it will affect anything, but how critical is it to have a completly straight frame? i wish i knew how to post pics.

bent farme is not that bad. granted it does creat a weak spot i ntheory...but anopther theory relative to the material science side of teh issue is that a bend actually sytrain hardens the steel there to creat a bit stronger spot.
anyhow, as long as there arent any drivability problems with it. i.e. it still goes straight, i wouldnt be too worried about it.
i know this is hard to believe, but when i smashed the barbie Z into the boulder i hit i "tweaked" the frame a bit. after heating with torch and bending it, i managed to get it close enough that the X-members were touching the torsion bar and i called it good enough. it drove straight, didnt give me any alignment problems, and basically didnt effect the truck i na noticable manner. everything was fine EXCEPT, if you lo0oked at the truck directly from the rear, you could tell that the pass, side of teh bumper sat lower than the drivers side. oh well, its a truck...I"ll dealwith it.

so my vote is to not be too worried about it. if its grossly bent, try to get it straightish, but if all your parts go on fine, and there isnt any contact or clearance issues...then keep on trucking buddy and take it as a lesson learned.

if you do drive it anyway, keep an eye on it once in a while to make sure it dosen't start to crack where it's bent

Tire wear will also be a good indicator if its messed up bad or not. If your tires start to wear funny in the front, take note.

Thanks fellas i think at worst it might give a minor alignment problem but i can live with rotating my tires often if i have to.