Great discussion Al,
Lots of smart guys providing excellent insight. One area I will disagree is the reccomendation of a GM-95 from Hughes. It is hands down the best Super-class converter on the market, and is ideally suited to handle the big torque monster 550-632 engines that are all the rage now. To say it would be a mis-application in your case is a huge understatement. Ryan G runs the GM95 converter in his SST T-bird, and while it has proven to be a useful tool in his persuit of a SST Championship, it slowed his little 473 a solid 2 tenths all-out!!
I do however, feel that a conversation with Kevin K. at Hughes would be a fruitful endeavor, they have really been putting alot of effort into R&d for the TS/TD crowd.

I'm trying to remember what your planetary gear was?? A lower ratio combined with the gear change would make things happier IMO.
Seriously though...Leave everything in the drivetrain the same, add a 150 shot at the hit, and then start chasing the suspension adjustments...TS here we come!