Jesse did you do any blending or are these heads the way they came from Hugh's the reason I ask is would the shitty short side help cause the low end power below 4000 you speak of .
Believe me I "helped" these heads a ton with extra care blending the bowl/throat, trick valve job, there was a gouge in the short side that I did my best to remove/lessen, pushed S.S. back as much as I dared to "stand it up" etc....
To answer your question YES a proper S.S. would bolster the flow numbers and hence velocity in the lower lift ranges which would probably pick up the torque 30-40 points below peak torque. I pulled this engine down @ 3500-6800 once just to see and its weak 380 ft/lbs--it also sounded and acted really bad. J.Rob