Ironhead,
I switched to an outboard (from Volvo IO in my old boat) when I bought the boat you are looking at in '97...has a 175 Ocean Pro Johnson with direct injection and a four stroke 9.9 kicker.
I'm very happy with that decision...much less maintenance and never have to winterize. Fuel economy is pretty good and plenty of power. Only disadvantage that I'd site is that the outboard at cruising speed is louder than most IO's. Agree with the earlier posts that corrosion is the enemy. My volvo had freshwater cooling but got a leak on the saltwater side of the heat exchanger that dripped on the front of the engine. Lottsa problems after that. The bellows was also a weak spot that could let saltwater into the outdrive which will ruin it fast. Didn't have 4 stroke outboards of this size in 97 but I'd sure be considering one today.....though I think one advantage of the 2 strokes is that they are designed from the prop up to be a marine engine without borrowed car parts etc. Of course this also makes them more expensive.
So I still prefer the outboard.
Happy shopping!