Not to mention you slow down your times
how long has your RMVB th400 w/brake lasted on the street? (miles)
ive got a built th350 with brake. I didnt get very many miles on it before I tossed a rod, but the few I did was a blast! i dont think its very easy to break these things, i was beating on it like it owed me something and it never hickuped once. Run a big plate cooler, and a trans temp gauge, keep the temps down (mine never gets over 180) and you should be fine. Im also running it with an FTI 4400 converter. Oh, and hears where it seperates the men from the boys.........4.10 rear gear 
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ive got a built th350 with brake. I didnt get very many miles on it before I tossed a rod, but the few I did was a blast! i dont think its very easy to break these things, i was beating on it like it owed me something and it never hickuped once. Run a big plate cooler, and a trans temp gauge, keep the temps down (mine never gets over 180) and you should be fine. Im also running it with an FTI 4400 converter. Oh, and hears where it seperates the men from the boys.........4.10 rear gear
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think 3.00 gears are to short? figure with the trans brake i will be able to build boost basically to whatever i want off the line....
If you can build boost off the line and add enough torque that way I don't see an issue. I definitely wouldn't go below 3.00 gears.
Hunter runs 3.00 gear in his new setup and went 9s on drag radials in a 17" rim size, Zombie runs 10s with a 2.75 gear and he is boosted, Cablebandit runs 9s with a 3.08 gear. Do some searching in the forced induction section and under the advanced searching.
Also what is your rear tire diameter?
Im going with a 3.25 or 3.50 with a 29" tall hoosier slick and a th400, large front mount 20 psi, transbrake and 2 step.
At 70 mph I would turn 2600 with a 3.25 and 2800 with a 3.50 gear.
With 3.73s and that same setup at 70 mph I would turn 3000rpm.
So for your setup lets say you have a 3.70 gear and 28" tall tire at 65 mph you would be at 2888 rpm, not too bad really since your coming from an auto already.
Hope this helps
Also what is your rear tire diameter?
Im going with a 3.25 or 3.50 with a 29" tall hoosier slick and a th400, large front mount 20 psi, transbrake and 2 step.
At 70 mph I would turn 2600 with a 3.25 and 2800 with a 3.50 gear.
With 3.73s and that same setup at 70 mph I would turn 3000rpm.
So for your setup lets say you have a 3.70 gear and 28" tall tire at 65 mph you would be at 2888 rpm, not too bad really since your coming from an auto already.
Hope this helps
This is what I found in my research:
try to get to 3rd for burnouts, don't let it hook hard during burnout, don't neutral or downshift at end of run, don't decel downshift, and if you do, don't hit the throttle again.
Pedaling in 2nd gear due to traction issues can be detrimental, especially with a full manual VB with no engine braking.
Don't do neutral drops...
Don't run it low on fluid....or with improper shifter adjustment.
try to get to 3rd for burnouts, don't let it hook hard during burnout, don't neutral or downshift at end of run, don't decel downshift, and if you do, don't hit the throttle again.
Pedaling in 2nd gear due to traction issues can be detrimental, especially with a full manual VB with no engine braking.
Don't do neutral drops...
Don't run it low on fluid....or with improper shifter adjustment.
No pedaling in 2nd with a full manual valvebody (unless you still have the intermediate band)
Dont shift into neutral at the end of a run (or in 2nd with a full manual valvebody) unless you want pieces of a 14lb drum in your leg.
as far as gear, just compare the 1st gear ratio to a glide:
first gear in a glide * 3.73 gears = 6.5648
first gear in a TH400 * 2.65 gears = 6.572
And plenty of people launch fine with a glide.......
All I can say is I'm really happy with the gearing of my car at 3.42
I have a top speed of 175 on the slicks and slightly under that for the drag radials. I come out on zero boost on 17" drag radials and run 9.35's at over 150 at the track. I can take that same drag radial on the street and feel comfortable that she'll come out of the hole really hard without needing boost. I think a lower gearing wolud make it a bit lazy and I'd need to build boost to come out hard on the street.
I have a top speed of 175 on the slicks and slightly under that for the drag radials. I come out on zero boost on 17" drag radials and run 9.35's at over 150 at the track. I can take that same drag radial on the street and feel comfortable that she'll come out of the hole really hard without needing boost. I think a lower gearing wolud make it a bit lazy and I'd need to build boost to come out hard on the street.
Does this mean you cant downshift into 2nd if the wheels are spinning fast or you cant downshift until you are completly stopped? When can you downshift back into 1st?