Why would you steer away from the ball and trunnion? They are a little harder to get parts for but they held up behind a lot of 413s, wedges and Hemis on the strip. I've had a ball and trunnion behind over 400Hp and a 4spd for quite a few years and it's still holding up. If Passon ever sells a five speed I'm hoping to be upgrading to a more modern front u-joint system but personnally don't think the old ball and trunnion is all that bad......
I had to shorten mine approximately 2" for a 7-1/4 to 8-3/4 swap but measure to be sure.