Will a Intake Manifold for a 1996 model year work?

No. Ford changed the design of the manifold on the newer version of that engine. Yours has the throttle body mounted to an elbow at the rear of the intake while the newer intakes mount it on the center on top, images attached show the difference. You would be looking for a Ford F4AZ9424C intake. If you look in the Ford catalog, they show that it fits variants of the TC up to 2000, however that is misleading as in reality those are "new" vehicles, but they are built on the older designed engine and chassis. Basically, the upfitters knew that Ford was making changes, so they ordered extra cars for 1995. Then they built them as they were ordered. As such you might buy a 1999 Lincoln Town Car Limousine and discover that it is built on a 1995 chassis. Plus, you likely wouldn't like the newer manifold design, they were a downgrade that were known for cracking and leaking coolant and extended the warranty on them as well as issued letters for people to bring them in for a replacement part.

Thank you. Now the fun begins. Finding the right part.

Try car-part.com That is a salvage yard listing system, punch in the vehicle data and see who has vehicles with that engine on the yard. Many send engines out to be rebuilt but quite a few don't and might have an intake just waiting for you. Another option if it's cracked or damaged would be to use one of the plastic tank epoxy kits to repair it. I've done that on a couple GM engines that had melted intakes.