Dana 60 , 14 bolt full float , 4.56 or lower gears.I have dana 44s in the front of most of the trucks I have had with no problems other than axle joints for mudding. Now days they make bad ass axle's and joints that are way better. The only down fall to the 60 is its a boat anchor in the mud compared to the 44 but the 60 is way beefier. I really have not had to many issue's with the 44 and I mostly run 38's and 40's and I would not run a locker in the front with big rubber in the mud , (more stress), so its a choice thats up to you , dana 60 heavy and tuff , dana 44 , light , more clearance , and can be made pretty tuff with out a locker by up grading the axle's and joints.
I also would worry about the trans. and case , for big rubber and mud I dont like the 700r or a 208 case , (weak) , I run turbo 400's and 205's in most of my junk , but thats just me.
My blazer I am building has a rv cammed 400 smallblock 9.5 to 1 , turbo 400/205 with a 14 bolt ff rear and a dana 44 front ,(4.56's) with 40's and I have only broken one axle joint in the deep ass lake bed mud beating it up pretty hard. If I break another joint I will just go with cmt racing joints and chromolly axle's to keep the light front end.
Rock crawling is a whole different story , dana 60 all the way.
It's also not a bad idea to truss a 44 with big rubber , I have not done that yet but its on the list , here is a pic.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach