So lets talk CFM. Lets put this 75mm caddy tb aganst the 73mm vortec one. Just how many cfm diffrence is there gonna be? Whatever tb I use, I dont want it to be too small, but at the same time, I dont want it to be too big.
You're starting to pick at nits. Get something built first, then make changes if you don't like the result. It's a small difference to be letting it stop you.

When I put the marine intake in the Chevelle, I had a monster long cable that came from a mid to late 90's van IIRC.

The air deflectors on the trucks are spot welded in. You can drill the weld out of the deflector without drilling through the plate. I'm surprised that GM used rivets in a TB.