Maybe I've learned a good lesson . . .

I think you could teach some a lesson. :) Your original build is about spot on imo. First off, that car with a small block is not near as heavy as it looks and makes a good handling ''road'' car. One of my early encounters with Mopars was with a college student neighbors 69' 318 Charger in the early 70's when i was about 13yo. All original with a alum intake, 600 carb and duals. He used to take me on some early Sun morning blasts thru the country roads near us and to this day, that some of the most fun i ever had. Might have been a 15/16sec car but i'd still love to have that same experience today.

That said, if you're looking for more of a straight line car, i'm not sure just a converter will satisfy you. Maybe time to look into larger cubes, and of course, larger dollars.