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has the frame on the 57 been swapped with the 4x4 conversion?
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No. As a current owner of a '57 and a former owner of a pile of 55-59 trucks, I can see a stock frame in the pictures.
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I honestly can’t figure out if it was orininally a 4x4 or not.
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There's almost no chance that it was a 4X4 truck.
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We are having a hard time figuring it out.
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If the truck was a 4X4 in '57 it would have been a NAPCO conversion. NAPCO trucks have a stock rear axle, an added transfer case with a small driveshaft between trans and transfer case, and an added front axle. All the shock line up with the factory mounts. The transfer case is on it's own well made crossmember. The front axle bolts up the front springs without needing new spring pads.
What you have is typical of how a backyard guy would do a 4X4 conversion in the '80s. That's a Blazer or half ton truck stuck under the stock frame. The giant spacer in the crossmember is part of the frame of the donor truck. The big blocks in the rear axle have to be there partly because the front springs in the donor vehicle have a reverse arch. The steering box was moved to the outside of the frame because it's power steering, and because the stock drag link doesn't connect to the new front axle. I can't tell from the pictures but most of the time the stock original crossmember was left intact.
Why do I know what this swap looks like? Because when I got my first truck as a kid, built from a pile of parts, I desperately wanted to make it 4X4. I looked at every 4X4 converted truck I could find. What you have could have been built in a couple of weekends "back in the day."
I would keep the stock frame. I would also spend time to decide what this truck is going to do for you... Wheelin' rig? Hunting outfit? Show queen? Better to decide now.