I would think the A-10 would definitely still be flying for several reasons but the biggest ones would be
doesnt need the long runways that the F-16 and F-15 need - in fact it can operate from very rough fields that would be unusable by those planes
are very easy to maintain compared to more higher tech planes
can operate with only a Mark 1 eyeball for is targeting system and can be very effective with just its cannon and dumb bombs which are probably all that is left by 2000 for ordinance
they can take one hell of a lot of punishment and remain operational - or get back to base - meaning there may be lots of airframes that were damaged but instead of an ejection they got back home to be cannibalized
considering the fuel situation you dont need fighters to kill bombers and other fighters - you need ground support aircraft - and that means you need A-10's to stay aloft - look at it from a USA 2000 issue -
You are a MilGov commander with two operational aircraft in Oklahoma andou get a message about a Mexican force with one tank and three APC's advancing on a garrison in North Texas that only has one anti-tank missile left. You can either fuel up your F-15 that is made to kill enemy fighters and hope its 20mm cannon can do some damage while exposing it to enemy ground fire that its extremely vulnerable to.
Or you go with your A-10 which is made for that mission.
Result - the A-10 goes out and rips a new butt out of the Mexican force it finds in the open, taking out their armor easily, shrugging off the hits it takes from a 12.7mm AA gun in the process and eliminating them as a threat to your garrison in north Texas completely, then comes back still operational - where your F-15, hit that many times, would be a smoking crater in the north Texas landscape.
I would think that by 2004-2005 the only modern non-transport aircraft the US may stilll have left that they havent mothballed to conserve them for a better day would be the A-10 just because its one of the few planes made for a post apocalyptic environment to still be able to do its mission.
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