i called advance auto parts just to see how much thier rebuilt starters are and he wanted to know if mine had the climate protection or something like that. what does that mean?

Better ask him to explain it. Sounds like you and he weren't communicating.

A cold weather starter uses a 2KW motor and a normal starter uses a 1.4 KW motor. Just a torque difference. Slight cost difference. Unless you live in North Dakota or somewhere like that, I wouldn't worry about it. That's my two cents. It's your truck. A beefier starter can't hurt.