I have to say I think you are right I am going to go with a 2 barrel. Keep it simple stupid as they say. But definitely lets talk about ignition and timing. I'll be going with an electric ignition system and actually looking through summit the other day I noticed they have a system that attaches to their electric ignition that will retard timing as you build boost. It is adjustable based on the needs and wants of the motor. I am not 100% sold on this but I do think it could help with the what I've heard is the not so fun task of tuning.
My question is where to start. I have seen where people are retarding the timing and degree of cam to what I would say are crazy numbers. But it is hard to say where to start since we are in no way dealing with exact setups or new motors, some slants are going to be more "tired" then others.