Which do you prefer automatic/manual valve body or a shift kit in a sb 727

As abodyjoe says, a lot depends on your driving habits. If you do a lot of drag racing then the full manual/reverse pattern valve body is the way to go. If you do more street/highway driving then let the transmission do the shifting for you. Any city/stop and go traffic, you'll probably soon tire of having to constantly shift the transmission. A manual valve body to me is the same as a stick car, you can soon lose the "fun" of rowing the shifter.
Also oldkimmer mentioned the TF-2 Transgo shift kit. As he says, with this kit you can have the best of both worlds - fully automatic, or wham bam thank you mam.

Others may disagree.