Brad - thanks for the observations - I was thinking along the same lines, but didn't think about the bed cover, for example.
I have been toying around on
http://www.angelfire.com/fl/procrastination/rear.html with gear ratios, and am definitely going with a 3.08 rear end as soon as I get the engine back together.
Do you have a link to more info on the T-5 transmission? That's something else I will definitely be changing, as my stock tranny has a 1.0:1 final gear (I need over drive to get the rpm's closer to the torque peak while cruising at 70 mph).