$1000....hmmm
Depends on who is installing the parts. People in general are afraid to install gears themselves.
Gears = $200 (definately get 3.73)
O/R X-pipe = $270 (basanni/
magnaflow) Cheaper available (i.e. MAC).
The o/r x-pipe will increase the exhaust note. But with the stock cat-back, it might not be that much of a difference.
That's $470. If you pay someone to install the gears, add $200 (appx., call around).
That is $670 total.
Personally, I would do cat-back, but that won't give you much SOTP feeling, just that "Man, my car sounds good" feeling.
Short shifter = $170 (this is a must w/ 3.73's in my opinion). Shifting delay can really hurt E.T.'s. You will actually get to use 4th gear after the 3.73's, so you will need it.
If you have an AODE, you should consult someone that has one and see if it's worth it. AODE = 4.10 gears. T-5 = 3.73 gears
That is $850.
With the $150, I would save up and get cat-back. The car needs to sound good too!
But since you don't want the exhaust to be audible, you might be better off leaving the exhaust stock. If so, I guess some aluminum heads would be in order. Doing intake/cam/MAF/TB mods w/ the stock heads are a waste of time IMO. You will see an increase in power, but not enough to justify spending $1000.
That is why people do the heads/cam/intake all together. They work as a whole, and independently cam/intake/etc is not worth it. But since you only have $1000 to work with, I suggest saving up to $1300 and getting some AFR 165cc heads.
But gears and a short shifter will get you a nice decrease in 0-60 time. So I would do that first. Best SOTP feeling IMO.
Scott