Auto to manual conversion. If you could do it over....regrets, pitfalls, long term opinions???

My 73 duster was a half of a basket case but very straight and rust free when I got it. It came with a hopped-up 318 a 727 automatic and a 7 & Quarter rear end. Through a splash of gas in the car and put a battery in it when I got home and made sure the motor would at least sputter. Pulled the entire drivetrain out and gave away the automatic and rear end. I bought an eight and a quarter with 355 gears and my wife went to Seattle and got what was supposed to be a complete 4-speed setup. The main box was in great condition and the bellhousing and the shifter mechanism there was things I had to put together but for $800 I think I did extremely well. There was some fighting and cursing and figuring things out but in the end I was extremely happy. As a side note I just put in a cheap AutoZone Heavy Duty clutch diaphragm Style and that lasted with slicks and drag racing with the 318 for two years no problem and then it lasted another year behind my stroker at the drag strip with full slicks for almost a year until it started slipping in 4th gear down the track. I went and tried a couple fancy clutches and it didn't get me anywhere and now I'm back to more or less they stock Hayes disc. Not saying anything's better than the other just telling you what my experience was. Now I built a 904 for my wife to try drag racing and it's all great but I can hardly wait to get the 4-speed back in the car.
LOL in conclusion I regret putting the automatic in the car LOL