For a shift kit, I would go with Baumann. Its the lowest priced at about 50.00 or so and has a great reputation for shift tailoring and hard shifts at full throttle.
For a converter, I would look into Edge converters.
Regarding the hardened input shaft, if you go with a non-lock converter, you dont need one, but some non-lock converters require a 1pc input shaft which will require removing the tranny for install.
If you go with a stock lock up style converter, it would be a wise investment. When the converter locks up in D and OD, it is instantly coupled to the crankshaft RPM's as opposed to non lock when it could slip a little. This sudden change causes an abrupt drop in RPM and can be hard in the 3/4 input shaft. You can pick a hardened one up for about 150-200 and it just slides in place.