That comment was tongue in cheek Jerry :). I've mostly seen/heard gear drives on cars at hang outs or car shows for the reason of sounding a lot "hotter" then the engines really were...lol.
I'm not familiar with them on Mopar's, but your theory is sound as far as keeping the cam timing tight. I'm not sure about this, but if a "idler" system is employed for the SBM, to me it's just more moving parts to fail. And considering the mileage that most here put on their engines, I'm still not sure if it's worth the effort?
Maybe it's the way to go for you? Whatever you chose, I'm with you...