I did this swap myself and i also traded my buddy for his trans in exchange for me doing all the labor, i only paid for a pro 5.0 shifter as he had an a/z lifetime clutch oh and a cable and quadrant, i did it all for like $200.00 but you are going to have fun making the five speed into an auto as the tranny tunnels aren't the same, when you convert to 5 speed, you just trim a little away, but when you make an auto, you must severly modify the tunnel!!!!!!!!
the tunnel does not need any severe modification to fit the auto. an adapter plate will have to be fabbed to adjust for the size of the hole that the shifter comes through, but thats about it.
Depends on what you want from the car. For a street only car, sticks are more fun. However, for higher horsepower drag cars, auto is the only way to go. Ever see a stick car go down the track? Looks outta place, IMO.