Need A833 advice

IMO, you might be selling the auto a lil short.
A small cam, big gears, a hi-stall, and a semi-auto shift-kit
can make an automatic into a lotta fun. Add a loc-up and/or an overdrive and you essentially have a 5.5 speed, with an automatic one-two, that you can control with the gas pedal.
With the A518 for instance, (the ratios are; 2.45-1.45-1.00-.69)
By the math the roadgears with 3.91s are;
9.58-5.67-3.91-2.70 That's 4 gears already; compared to
9.44-6.82-4.93-3.55 with the A833/3.55s (ratios of 2.66-1.91-1.39-1.00)
>But in practice, at WOT, the converter behaves like a fully automatic 2-speed, with the ability to multiply the torque coming into it, continuously variable, from about 1.8 at Zero mph, to 1.1 at the big end.
So then, your roadgears, at WOT might actually look something like;
17.24 at zero mph, diminishing to 11.98 at the up-shift; then
7.37 in second, 5.08 in direct, 4.30 in overdrive, and finally 2.70 in lock up;
So; 17.24-11.98-6.80-4.30-2.97-2.70 and the splits are; ..69-.57-.63-.69-.91
I call it a 5.5speed, on account of the short lock-up. Compare this;
(17.24-11.98)-6.80-4.30-2.97-2.70, the A518/3.91s ........ to
...............9.44-6.82-4.93-3.55 ......... the A833/3.55s.
>I chose REAR gear ratios representative of what I think most streeters would run with these combos AND matched second gears to be fair, because with either combo, as a streeter, Second gear is gonna be the workhorse gear.
>With a small cam, and shifting at 5200, you could be up-shifting at the following speeds;
31,54,85 , with the A518; and
44,61,84 , with the A833..
So, as you can see, With either trans, as a streeter, at WOT, you will only pull one shift from Zero to 55/60 mph .................. but the TC will "shift " itself another time. That is why autos are usually quicker. And that is also why the A833 usually came from the factory with 3.55s compared to the autos with 3.23s..
>But with semi-auto shifting, you have the option of just putting it into Drive, and letting the governor take over; and you can tune the governor to shift at whatever speed you want it to including adjusting the overdrive to come in earlier.

Just to be clear; I also am a die-hard A833 fan; but for different reasons than you.
But;
a couple of decades ago, I did have a lotta fun with a 318LA for several winters, sometimes with an A904/2800, and sometimes with a manual trans, and every winter with a different rear gear.