Auto to manual , pilot bearing question

Reports are that sometimes the crank bore is not finished for a pilot busing on all the production cranks after a certain year. So first thing is to pull the trans and see what you are facing there.

FWIW, while using a shorter rear gear was indeed 'normal' for a manual trans car, IMHO, it was not always the case and I would not worry over the rear gear for now. The manual trans 4 speed (OD 4th) trans in my '76 Dart Lite used a 2.76 rear gear with a 225. Never bothered me in the almost 1/4 million miles of driving one, and that was in the Appalachian mountains with all sorts of starts on steep hills. My wife couldn't drive it well however....