I'm positive that you're right about the headache portion. Just looking at my engine compartment is enough to make me think about spending money on cast iron.
I got a set of the polished, coated TTI step tubes at Monster Mopar weekend for $625.00 (plus $75.00 drop-shipping).
Seems like the minimum you're going to pay for decent manifolds is $250, and that's not for the HPs.