There is some info that would be helpful here:
How many miles on the truck?
Is the engine stock (verify size and if turbo charged), stick or auto?
Has it been modified in any way?
How hot was it outside when it over heated?
Have you verified there are no leaks?
...so, back to basics. Have you checked the engine oil to verify level and condition? A blown head gasket can leak one or more of several ways. As to these fundamentals, it does not matter if we are working on a gas or Diesel engine:
When running;
Compression to water.
Compression to atmosphere (you will hear a rapid popping sound).
Compression to oil.
Compression to crankcase.
When engine is off;
Water to crankcase.
Water to cylinder.
Any time;
Water to atmosphere.
Water to crankcase.
Oil back to crankcase (causes low oil pressure).
Basically, the head gasket separates several things from each other. Which ever two have experienced a breach will succumb to that which has the higher pressure. This changes depending on the engine being on or off. For example, oil will leak into water when running but water back into oil when a hot engine is turned off. The most common failure on both gas and diesels is compression leaking into water as these areas of the gasket share the most stress in the form of heat and pressure and they are very close to one another.
Check the fluids before startup and verify levels and condition. If there is coolant in the oil, bad head gasket (it will look like a foamy milkshake). Running it runs the risk of bearing damage. If no milkshake continue on.
Remember that very low oil can cause overheating. The biggest culprits for low oil are 1. A leak. 2. A bad turbo 3. Valve guides and/or seals, and 4. Piston rings, in that order.
A thermostat stuck open will cause the engine to take forever to heat up, longer if moving. Stuck closed and the radiator will be cold (no hot water flowing through it) but the heater will blow hot within a few minutes of startup. If the upper radiator hose is cold then either the thermostat hasn't opened yet or the coolant level is low. If it feels warm it was open briefly or the coolant is low. If the hose is hot the thermostat is open AND the coolant level is full.
Leave the coolant pressure cap off and start it. Let it idle until it reaches operating temperature. Verify gauge operation when cold and hot.
If coolant starts puking out the surge tank for a couple minutes then calms down this could be the thermostats cycling. What happens is the coolant in the engine isn't moving. It gets hot so the thermostats opens. This coolant 'trades places' with the cold coolant in the radiator. That cold coolant hits the thermostat and causes it to slam shut. When this happens the surge tank will burp (therein lies the name. If there is no surge tank then the radiator tank with the cap doubles as a surge tank). Top it off with water only until you get to the bottom of the problem (saves $$).
After a minute or three the thermostat opens again and the coolant level drops a bit. Depending on the ambient temperature this cycling can happen 2 or 3 times. If it stabilizes add enough to get the level to the 'HOT' line. Let it continue to run with the pressure cap off. If it keeps puking again and again and again, there is either a thermostat stuck shut, a dirty radiator, or there is compression entering the coolant system-bad head gasket.
Replace the thermostat with a new one from Ford. DO NOT experiment with any temperature than factory spec. Ford spent tens of thousands of man hours and tons of $$ engineering the right temp. Don't try to 2nd guess them on this.
You may need to drive it to the end of the block a few times to get it hot enough. Just leave the cap off. If it settles down and quits puking but the temp stays up, dirty radiator. If it's aluminum, don't waste time and money on cleaners, flush, or any other gimmicky crap. Buy a new one. If it's old school find a reputable radiator shop. Pull it, take it in and have it rodded out. No flushes, cleaners or crap off the parts store shelf will get the calcium and scale out of any radiator. Servicing the aluminum ones is to be considered a temporary repair and rarely lasts more than a year. If they are dirty I recommend a new one.
You can test it out of the truck. Lean it against the wall and plug the lower outlet with your hand. Use a hose and fill it with water. Remove the hose then your hand and count how long it takes to drain. If it's clean it will be completely empty in 4 seconds. 5 seconds kinda dirty but livable. 6 or more and she's full of crap. The water should rush out hard until it is empty. If it sorta dribbles out the tubes are clogged. It doesn't matter what size radiator out of what size car or light truck when you do this-it's all relative. Number of tubes vs. size of the hose bib...
A radiator will flow however much coolant the water pump forces through it. The dirtier the tubes are the faster the water needs to move. This means the water has less time to dissipate heat causing the engine to get hotter. The more heat the more preasure on well, everything.
If the head gasket turns out bad you need to find out why. Sometimes they just go bad. More often the engine got to hot because of a dirty radiator. The thermostat, head bolts (on torque-to-yield engines), and radiator will need to be replaced as a part of the repair.
Now....I live in the desert. Every car I own gets a radiator replaced or rodded every 100,000 miles. It's cheap insurance. My wife's Tahoe has 225K on it. My F350 440K. My Scout 300K. I've never had to change an head gasket or a tranny in any of them. I do however pick up some nice side $$ putting head gaskets and radiators in. If you do any amount of towing consider adding coolers for trans and engine oil. Those Fords have tons of space between the grill and condenser.
I hope this helps.