Lot's of good information here. Thanks for all the input. I kept trying to leave the effects of a more top-end-ish cam out of the equation. I have strong compression now (more than I thought I did, which really ticks me off since the builder "claimed" that it wouldn't be more than 10:1... the only one who'll do it right is you... ) so it could definitely support a larger cam, but would it support the environment that it has to operate in? Based on RPM range of the aforementioned cam though power would be made from 2800 through 7000 RPM, too much I think. The drive couldn't handle the RPM at the top, the current heads wouldn't support it anyway, and the longevity of the engine would be killed altogether.

It looks like for my situation a change to the Sportsman IIs will help me meet my goals of having a hard running and reliable combination. The flow numbers are comparable, and since the Vortecs are a limiting factor on larger displacement engines, I'll be able to gain some top end in the process. Comp believes that the cam is pretty good for the combination though they would have spec's a 112* LSA over the 110* that the auto grind uses.

One last thing you could try.
 

Most modern camshafts have the intake advanced to 106 or less. This closes the intake valve too early for an application like yours. Closing the intake valve early extends the compression cycle building more compression. Retard the camshaft centerline back to 110 or 111 degrees ATDC. This holds the intake open longer, shortening the compression cycle.
It is a cheap solution and might help a little.
Sincerely
Dennis Moore

That might work...
 

According to my calculator, retarding the ICL to 111* would drop DCR to 8.54 which might very well work with the Vortec heads as far as reliability is concerned.

How would that effect performance though? Retarding the cam (basically installed with -1* of total advance) would raise peak power RPM and, wouldn't it? I guess the con would be decreased power output on the bottom end (which will make the drive happier). The pros would out weigh that (increased power upstairs, less prone to detonation, etc).

Better to go this way or would the heads be the best choice?

TomZ, the heads are by far the better choice. Cams, especially na, don't like to be retarded unless they are very large, very high rpm. The fuel economy and low end power will suffer a lot at -1*.

Well, that's pretty much what I thought. The heads will make it work better in the end.

Time to start preparing the wife! ;)