Last time I checked (not w/in the last few years), NOBODY offered a cast-iron gear option for a billet BBM / Gen II Hemi cam.

I'm also surprised at the wide range of lifespans people running the traditional bronze gear experience. Dwayne posted pics on SpeedTalk that showed some pretty severe wear that he thinks could be the result of the teeth on the cam gears not being beveled today as well as they used to be. At least, I believe that's his hypothesis.

One of the things to inspect while I'm addressing the oil leaks that turned up on the dyno is the distributor drive gear wear. I've got either an MP or a Milodon bronze gear & shaft assembly and a collar restricting the vertical play between the distributor shaft and the oil pump drive. Depending upon how that looks, I may pull the cam and try to bevel its teeth slightly.

From some of the comments others posted about trying the melonized steel or poly(?) gears, my thought is if the cam gear / oil pump drive gear interface is "iffy" for whatever reason, it's not going to matter what type of material the drive gear is.