The T5 is still an easier and cheaper swap. If you aren't working your truck too hard it might be ok. Gm never put a t5 behind an engine larger than a 307. I prefer to have more transmission than less... Last week I took some concrete debris to the dumps for a neigbor. I tipped the scales carrying a 2200 lb load. I may have been a bit overloaded for a 1/2 ton pickup, but my point is just that... eventually every pickup is asked to do a little more than what it is rated to do.
