I think your on the right track with some tire/wheel combo and a tune. There is an old black 1/2 ton chevy van with a 383 and nos running 10's. Yours should hit 12's easy with some good traction. Just make some initial runs to see where your at with your reaction time and 1/8 mile times. Don't go for broke till you get an idea of what the trans will do first. There is a company that builds a manual shift 4l80e that stands up to 2000hp so, Mike, I am sure can build you one to do as good or even better.