Sounds like a fun build and not too different from mine. A 10 second 340 car is entirely possible with or without NOS or other boosters. I doubt that it would be streetable without boosters, though. But if you're only drag racing then no worries.
A leaf spring suspension is quite usable. No need to go to coil over/4 link suspension unless you want to. What I WOULD recommend is a set of fully adjustable shocks front and rear.
Don't have an answer for your second question but I am in the same boat as you and am interested in an answer..
:thumbsup: