00' Tailgate replacement/Drivers door lock issue

Has anyone removed an entire tailgate of a 00 model explorer, how difficult was it? I had a boat trailer bust clean through and I'm debating whether or not to get body work done, or just get another door from the junkyard. I also have an issue with my drivers door lock, most of the time the lock jumps when i try to lock it but it doesn't engage, if i bang on it i can get it to engage, then when its locked it doesn't want to unlock. Any ideas?