Going to build a 440 - any thoughts?

If the budget is a problem I'd stay simple. Rebuild the lower end, blueprint and internally balance it, stick some hyper pistons into it to get real compression. Then you can decide on the heads. Any aluminum will run you $2K plus to get on and running. You can get a really good set of iron done for performance that will be close to the OOTB performance of the lower price point aluminums for about 60% of the cost. So I'd do that. You can always upgrade later if you want. You should be able to end up with a very serious pump gas torque monster 440 for under $5K. I also agree with keeping the cam on the smaller side - something solid flat tappet, and around 225-230° @ .050. It's not hard to get 500 ft of torque from a properly built mild 440. That extra 50-80 pound feet and lower rpm of a stroker will cost you another 50% of the budget. return on investment isn't there IMO.