I have the heavy duty 8 leaf oem springs in the rear and I took out the two short ones all the way around. after talking with Sid of Nostalgia Sid's Dropped Axles most guys take two leaves out of the standard 7 leaf packs so I'll probably be removing another leaf in the rear.
As for the overload spring packs, ditch em unless you plan on hauling heavy loads on rough roads. I had them too. now they're garage art.
Weight definitely improves the ride. I had a rotary motor and it's 5spd trans strapped to a palette in the back for 100mi and the truck has never handled as well as it did then.
