I finally got the bottom of my S10 bed completed (at least enough for now) by welding in patch panels where the fenders had been. I flattened out the weld seams as much as possible and then added some body filler to smooth them out.
Then I got the bed sides welded on. This whole sub-project took me a long time due to all the dents and kinks in the bottom and bedsides-but now, with the bed together I have more space in the shop (and more storage space on the truck).