Thats pretty much the exact setup I am going to do (I'm gonna do the Mag Hytech Diff cover too though).

My tax return just got here, so I will probably call you sometime this week James to figure everything out.

My truck with the 5.4L, 3.73, custom tuning is fine on flatland but as soon as I hit the hills it bogs down really bad. The tranny is constantly shifting to try to stay in the power band, it hates hills. Driving up to the Ranch or up to Tahoe scares me everytime. The 4.88s should make it much easier on the tranny.

 

About LS in the front axle in snow/ice:

I drove mine in 4wd with an LS up front and never had any slipping/sliding problems in ice or snow.