I don't know if you have one yet but I would recommend that you get an SCT-2. Trust me on this one, it makes a big difference in the way the car behaves. I think you'd be pretty happy with the car then. Try to stop worrying about dyno tests and what car you can beat
Jimp agrees with me on this one. First off, forget about those dyno results. Personally, I don't believe them at all. I think the guys who did it are incompetent, mainly because they were giving you the run-a-round for weeks about doing it (probably because they were still reading the manual trying to figure out how to use it!!) Those guys don't sound like pros to me, they probably didn't even have the instrument calibrated or maintained properly.
Many stock V6's are dynoing from 189 to 199 depending on the instrument, car and run. If you can FEEL a difference in the power, then you have obviously made a significant improvement in the HP & Torque. I bet you are really making 195-200+ rwhp (cool/dry day).
If cashflow allows, definitely get a SCT Xcal2 with custom tunes set up for your mods. This will allow you to realize the full potential of your mods (for example; no lean condition), plus remove that annoying 1 second(+) WOT delay they engineered in.
I don't want to get you into trouble (we all appreciate you taking on the "forum-test pilot" role) but I would really like to know what your 0-60 time(s) are, both before and after the SCT Xcal2 tune.
Also, if (hypothetically) you were actually getting 250+ HP (crank) after the tune, would you still want to give up on the V6?? It's too soon for a lot of performance parts to be available for the V6. Headers are already out and I'm sure heads, int manifolds, nitrous, blowers, etc. will be along in the future.
There is really NO WAY your only getting 183 rwhp out of your engine. Unless you somehow happened to get a "lemon" engine from the factory. But, I'm pretty sure Ford dynos the motors following assembly. How can you make mods that give a noticeable boost in performance *and* be making less power than a stock motor!?!? I haven't seen a stock dyno that low.
Seriously, don't even think about having those guys dyno the car again. They were delaying your appointment while they were trying to read the instruction manual.
If you can do it safely, I'd like to see what your 0-60 time is after the proper tune (the more I think about it, the more I think this is *critical* for you due to the significant changes in airflow you made. Even a good CAI requires a retune)