after market air filter

So I have an 1988 Mighty Max with a 2.6L. I want to put on a after market air cleaner and want to know what to do with the hose from the PCV valve and the vacuum hose? Thanks

Hi and welcome to mightyram. Most aftermarket air cleaner assemblies should have a plastic elbow that goes through the base plate somewhere so the breather hose can be reattached. There are also those small breather elements you can buy so the crank case gases can vent out without debris from entering the system. You can cap off the redundant vacuum hoses to the air cleaner.

Is there a brand that is best to put on the truck?

No, but there are pitfalls to using an 'open air' filter. They are generally the same/similar design. I would stick to one using a paper filter element. I have used oiled foam filters (LYNX) and they are sketchy. The foam shrinks and although they are reusable, they are a pain to keep oiled and can crumble if you get a backfire (imagine scorched foam getting sucked into your carb...) The bonuses - improved throttle response, added torque when the weather/road conditions are cold. The negatives - drawing a hot air charge from the engine bay continuously (this negates throttle response gained and robs power, not awesome for economy), loss in overall torque (the factory air cleaner box has a long intake track and pulls air from outside of the engine bay - longer intake = torque). If you can expose the open air filter to a cool air source it will make the most out of a less than ideal situtaion.