A little follow up. The seller just sent me his repair records today.
I had inspected the belt and other items after the note above. They looked good, and the seller's records support that as they show that along with lots of other stuff, the drive belt was replaced, along with a total rework of the front suspension to address older rubber items. Age concerns, not mileage. New shock absorbers, upper suspension A-arms, suspension control arm and ball joint assembly, front stabilizer bar link kit, full wheel alignment. Added in a fuel pump assembly R&R as well. All done at the end of November 2023!
Knock on wood, but I think I got very lucky, as I knew it had been well maintained, but not to this extent.
I found the thread on replacing the cruise control buttons and ordered what I need to replace them tomorrow (Amazon overnight!). It's odd, but they are crunchy, almost like something spilled on them that damaged the material.
While I am doing that, I'll also do a brake bleed to change out the fluid as it is a little darker than I'd like. Found the thread on the ABS system and figured out its no big deal with ABS.
Next weekend, I'll be doing a coolant flush. Still functioning fine as tested by the non-normal 25 degree weather here in Texas last night, but its more brown than green.
Great site with lots of good info for a someone new to the Ranger world.