I used to be right where you are now.'72 Cuda, 440 w/stock 906 heads &.557 MP solid cam. I "borrowed" (try before you buy kinda deal) a set of ported (somewhat) 452's, This was back in the early 90's. As I was changing the heads, I noticed that my cam had a lobe down. Only cam that was available to get me going by fri was a .590 solid lift MP. I changed both the cam & heads and went from 7.20's to 6.90's. And my converter was an old worn out GER. I have always run the 2" Hooker super comp headers, so I can't tell you how much of a difference that would make. I also used to run 5.13:1 rear gears, but I switched to 4.56:1 years ago. The 727 has a LOT lower 1st gear than a 2 speed racing transmission does. Don't let your bowtie buddys tell you that you HAVE to have all that rear gear, you don't. And your tires will thank you.

Good luck, Brian