Engine/tranny swap: 86 Silverado

[Orion88]

I came across a deal on Craigslist and I'm thinking about going through with it. A guy has an 87 K5 blazer that is rusted in some bad spots and he is either parting out or selling the complete truck as is. It has a Stage 2 GM Crate engine with throttle body and it has 30,000 miles. Also has a rebuilt 700r4 with 16,000 miles. Truck supposedly has good interior and doors and the transfer case was rebuilt at the same time as the tranny. Asking $700 for the engine/tranny or $850 for the whole truck.

My truck has a bone stock carbed 350 and a TH400 that gets hot when plowing snow. It still shifts and runs fine, but my dad and I were talking about getting it rebuilt or swapping in a 700r4 anyways. Our tranny shop quoted us $900. Overall the truck performs quite well, aside from being bone stock and down on power. Fires right up on cold days, idles smooth, kickdown and electric choke work, etc. It has very good original paint and interior and minimal rust. Definitely not a beater, nor is it a show truck.

So... there are a couple questions I have that are keeping me from pulling the trigger. First off, if I buy the whole truck at $850, how much of that could I potentially recover selling off the interior, doors, top, T-case, and my old 350/th400, and finally scrapping the rest of the truck?

Secondly, how much money will I spend on fluids, spark plugs, filters, engine and engine bay paint, clean up supplies, etc etc?

Third, can I pull the engine/tranny without disconnecting the two and without removing the front end sheet metal/core support from the 86? I know I'll have to at least remove the hood but no big deal.

Fourth, how long should this swap take? I assume a full weekend at least.

Fifth, should I pull the throttle body and put the quadrajet back on the crate engine? I know q-jets are amazing carbs, I just don't know if it will need rebuilt or tweaked for the higher hp engine. And will I be able to use the kickdown/electric choke on the crate engine?

Lastly, does anyone know about these stage 2 GM crate engines? I found two crate engines on summit that were referred to as "stage 2" made by ATK High Performance. One had iron heads and was rated at 325hp and the other was aluminum rated for 375hp. What kind of difference would I see after doing this swap? Is it worth the trouble?

Thanks in advance for the help.