I hear ya there. I think dgc and moper have hit it on the head. If it is a 3.58 or 4.00 stroke, the owner has final choice on where to spend his money. But we do all seem to agree to sel the 340 block for the best money return to power forth the project at hand.
On the bearings. Yikes, I don't know. I re-did mine on the 8-3/4 a long time ago and have had no problems in many years.