Blew 3rd and 4th gear in 98 Cobra

Out for a spin with a lady friend Friday night and finally lost 3rd and 4th gear. This happened in my old 96GT (lost same two gears) and I ended up throwing a TKO in, but sold it months later I got a lot of work done so I think it would be wise to just suck it up and put in a Bad A$$ tranny, but if I recall the TKO + install cost me 3grand and change after Dugan racing got done screwing me. Obviously I no longer bring my car to that outfit - but what kind of tranny would you recommend for a 4:30 gear? I believe my buddy said a TKO will make the first gear ratio more like a 4:10 with my setup - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Any benefits of going witha a 6 speed and if so how much are we talking? I normally get my work done at MV Performance, but last I checked they usually have about a month turnaround on just about anything due to volume. Should I only let a mustang shop touch this or could I expect a transmission outfit to be able to install an aftermarket transmission? What kind of modifications do you need (bellhousing, etc.?) I really didn't want to spend much more than $2,500 when all is said and done, any suggestions would be much appreciated!

I think rebuilding may not be wise, this tranny has been "clunky" going into gears and very loud - I think I just need to start with a new one...

How much are we talking for full install on either setup - I just hate pouring a ton of money into a car that's got a book value of less than 10 grand and close to 15 grand in mods' already...If you can relate...do you recommend only going through a mustang shop on this one? Thanks

Do you have to typically remove the exhaust(h pipe) to do this swap? I ask because way back when an exhaust shop welded my pipe to the mufflers instead of keeping the bolt on setup...morons....but ohhh well...I didn't look under my car to see the clearance - I mean there is some play when you unbolt the hpipe from the headers obviously, but I just never looked into it before...

Wishful thinking...yup that rookie call about 3 years ago has screwed up EVERY mod that lingers around the exhaust! The guy was like "ohh sorry, I do that on most of my setups..." moron...Thanks for the info though. I talked to a transmission place and they said it's about $500 to do a swap and that F'in exhaust will probably hike that price up a little I am sure...

I told him I'd go all out with the TKO and do a clutch and flywheel combo most likely - any recommendations with the TKO and a 4:30 gear on the combo? Both my mustangs have had a pretty firm clutches - I hate the "knife into butter" clutches like my Bro's Vette...no feel...let me know what you recommend - he asked me to throw out a ballpark of where I am looking to be in price I said 3 grand would be nice, all said and done, but to let me know where the cost would be coming from...

Thinking back I did the same thing on my old Saleen did the flywheel and everything and that's where he got me...I think it came to well over 5 grand after all of the witchcraft...

So I have a fallback in case I don't go the TKO route, what's the "next best" stepping down from the TKO? I just put a new aluminum driveshaft on the stock setup so I'd hate to junk that as well...will that work with other tranny's besides my T-45? What modifications would need to be made for the tranny to fit? Thanks guys

Could I recalibrate my speedometer to accurately reflect my 4:30 gear if I switched to the TKO(without a speedcal..)? This would be a plus because I just ignored that problem until (bigger one's) came along...or would I still need the Speedcal regardless? Just trying to get all the facts - and I would assume my new aluminum driveshaft would still work? I checked the website where I bought it and it's pretty generic saying it can be used for a wide range of mustangs?