Grigg:

Excellent advice. That is one reason I thought a 6 speed might be the better choice. You've 6th for empty highway cruising and 4th or 5th for towing use. I'll have to look at the relationship between the higher gears.

Rustednuts: I hear you. Economics are always a factor. I'm facing the same issues with engine choice. I may end up with "good enough" in the short term, while I save my nickles for "best choice" down the road.

Anyone have any thoughts on the rear end gears vs. transmission gears issue? Maybe if the rear is in good shape and doesn't have some crazy gear set, I'll leave it and fine tune overall road speed/RPM using the trans and tire size.

Thanks

Larry