"btw ...... IMHO, the worst bang for the buck spent is a catback." Agree.
"Others that don't do a lot are tb" Disagree in my case after my cam and stuff the TB made all the difference in the world. Maybe it was the bottle-neck. Going with the Ford Racing 65mm was night and day. The new electronics didn't hurt either.
GEARS GEARS GEARS. K&N panel filter doesn't give you any HP either.
I agree on a good tune-up....I would go gears next....nothing will compare to a gear swap for feeling like your getting somewhere powerwise...they make such a big dif...
Mid pipe and leave the muffs alone to save a few bucks...even if there stock a mid pipe is gonna "louden" things up...
Porting the stock lower will really pick the mid/upper power up...it'll pull harder to redline...
With anything left over I'd do underdrive pulley's...
You should be able to get all this in for 500.00..You turn your own wrenchs, then all the better....If you can drive, you should be mid/low 14 easy....