I don't know that it's a "350 issue" The 350 Ranchers, 420 Ranchers, and 05-11 Foremans that I've fixed have almost always needed crank rebuilds. The small end of the connecting rod always has play with the wrist pin.
Vince (Mr Crankshaft) said the older engines tended to oil that area better, so they tend to not have wear in that specific area quite as often.
And of course, you have to remember that almost every wheeler I get is trashed/ blown up/ neglected when I get them
Does this help?
It's also got a couple other issues, it idles rough and sometimes just stalls, especially if it's cold. Will adjusting the pilot screw help with that or is that a separate problem?
And then it makes a rattling noise when it's idling. Just guessing, I'd say it's the valves needing adjusting, but not sure on that. How hard of a job is that, and what kind of tools would I need?