Not sure about the hail damaga repair, depends on how many dents you have. If i remember correctly, there was a guy driving around fixing hail damage a few years ago with the dentless tool, i think it was 35$ a dent. Not sure, but that sounds close.
I think the HD hood would look just as good as the cowl. I haven't seen one on a 1/2 ton yet, maybe you'll be the first.
I'm going with a cowl hood when i get some $$ coming in.
Not a lot info, but i hope that helps,
keep up updated,
allen