How do you determine "ride height" to make suspension mods??

I might suggest that if you are set on the tires, buy them now. Take the wheels off of your car, set the tires in and then using floor jacks and jackstands, set the car to the ride height you like. This will also help in getting an idea on backspacing, axle width and whatnot. Also be sure that the wheels that you want to use have the available backspacing that you want/need, or you may have to adjust your plans accordingly.
I've seen more than a few builds go wrong because the wheels and tires were picked at the end of the build and the needed sizes couldn't be had.
Yeah I picked my wheels first and built my housing to match those measurements.