Wow I have just read this from start to finish. It is very similar to what I am doing at the moment. I started out with a stroker and have just purchased a 2.8 24v vr6 to replace it. The major difference is I'm keen to keep the manual 4motion setup (Not sure how strong they are) and it's all in an old nova (so I am also sick of welding). I'm curious about the ignitron ecu and how you feel they compare to other brands.