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Thanks all for the excellent suggestions, comments and recommendations.
Based on everyone's advice, I stopped by Washington Muffler by the
corner of Washington and Washington in Culver City. They put it up on
a lift, checked for leaks (listened for leaks and also visual), and the
only parts that we're rusted out were the muffler and tailpipe.
Exhaust manifold to behind the catalytic converter appeared good. So
while I waited they cut off from the muffler back and put together a
new exhaust system. Too much $$ to make any kind of major upgrades to
the exhaust system, but I did opt for the free flowing Magnaflow
muffler. Totat tab out the door was around $230 (a lot better than the
$2.5K!), and my truck runs better and feels like it's got a bit more
power too! Like everything else I've recently fixed on my truck, I
should have done this sooner.

I wrote:[color=blue]
> I'm the original owner of a 1988 pickup, 22R, short bed, manual trans,
> around 173K miles. After 18 years, the original exhaust is starting to
> look a bit rusty, especially since I live near the ocean. I called
> Carson Toyota for an approximate quote, and they said about $2,500 plus
> installation for everything from the exhaust manifold back to the end
> of the tailpipe. This seems awfully expen$ive.
>
> Any recommendations for replacing an original '88 exhaust in the LA /
> Ventura area? What product - OEM or aftermarket - and installer? I
> plan to keep this truck until it completely dies, which I don't see
> happening any time soon.[/color]