372or 416 and why

The 4" engines dont want a steep gear. They want to pull and use that leverage the stroke gives you. If you were bracket racing the 408 on the 1/8 mile, the gearing would be fine but you'd need a LOT more suspension to hook it. In either engine's case, the stall is WAY off. higher is NOT better. A strong combo is the 4" stoke, a set of 3.91s, a 28" tire, and a convertor that can hold the torque and keep the slippage down. I have no clue what you had for a package, but just goign by the convertor I'd say it would never have worked regardless of the engine in front of it.