I would get the Tacoma. Regarding the cylinders, if you want to tow a lot, get the V6, otherwise, get the 4cylinder engine. I would get a 4WD since you can have a better resale value..

 I suggest the 4x4 Tacoma with the 6 cylinder as the mpg is not much different from the 4 cylinder.  I have a '19 Tacoma access cab 4x4 with the 4 banger and will be trading it in on a Tacoma 4x4 V6  this year.

Toyota, all day long.  The F150 will leave you walking, a lot.

If your roads are typically clear (crazy for Michigan I’m assuming lol) and you’re allowed to take time off from work for really bad snow then save the money on 2wd. Tacoma’s are just as reliable as they come, I drive an f150 for work, it has about 60k on it now and it’s not too impressive. I can already tell it won’t be a 200k mile truck. Plus you mention keeping it for 7+ years. I’m guessing not for life. Either way Tacoma beats out. It’ll last longer plus it’ll have higher (much higher) trade in/ resale value over the Ford. For the engine type you’ll need to decide what’s work best for you. Hope this helps even though I’m no Scotty lol