My buddy Mark tried that sensor trick on his old truck last week. He said the alignment went twice as fast once the sensor was set right. Now he swears by doing the calibration step before anything else.
My cousin's 2012 F-150 had a wandering steering issue for months. We finally did the sensor calibration first, like Mark, and the whole front end alignment took under an hour. It was a total game changer for DIY fixes. What kind of truck does your buddy have?