Well, I ended buying a new actuator from Tousley ford. It was about $60 with shipping, but well worth the extra money.
The actuator was actually much sturdier and had a slightly different build than my original. The best thing was that the hook that goes into the lock was able to be detached from the actuator, which made installation much easier.
The metal shaft is no longer made of soft metal, but strong stainless steel. Very hard to bend. I still had to slightly bend the shaft at the very end with pliers to get the hook in the lock and then snapped the rod back into place on the actuator. I left the end slightly bent so it would be easy to get out for somebody else should it need to be replaced in the future. It's not going anywhere even with that bend. It worked like a champ when I tested it. I'm pretty sure it's a current model actuator used in current models.
I may replace both front door actuators if I find out they're the same design as the rear actuator.