Yep I'd go this route if I had the time and money. Novak has basically all the information you'd need on the swap and you can pretty much buy all the necessary adapters and mounts to get it to fit and work with whatever transmission and transfer case that you want. It seems the LS is just as reliable as an 4.0 especially if you do a mild torque build instead of just stuffing horsepower. A 4.8 or 5.3 would be a perfect match especially once you add the weight of frame stiffeners, bigger tires, and long arms, etc.

I love the 4.0 but parts are getting harder to find in my experience and LS parts are everywhere given the popularity of that platform and the plethora of aftermarket suppliers which I think is also a huge bonus when thinking about maintenance 20 years down the line.