Welcome! You have the addiction already I see!!!!
As one of the only ones here who has done both the 4-5" OLV lift and a Dana 44 SAS conversion. I gotta say for anything other than rock crawling, go for the OLV 4-5" lift, 31" tires, and 3.73 or 4.10 gears. I say go this way simply so you can get up and running much sooner. Gerald is going to have to build and then test a SAS conversion kit and that will take some time.
Now, if you have time to wait for the Dana 44 conversion lift (or the skills/money to do your own kit now), do the 350 swap and run the van to work out any drivetrain bugs. The only difference between swapping a V8 in with the IFS and a D44 is the custom oil pan. With the D44 you would use the stock oil pan...not a big deal. Get the 350 running smoothly, efficiently and reliably, get the cooling system upgraded for future wheeling heat (HD radiator swap), add a monster aux tranny cooler and then look into doing the D44 swap.
As for transfer cases, it is true the 2 speed cases can make the handling weird in some snow conditions. This doesn't appear to be as true for the guys out west. I don't know if it's type of snow we have, the crappy roads or what. Also if you do the D44 swap and eliminate all of the factory steering setup, you will have NO issues with pulling in the snow. Use a Truetrac posi up front and a Detroit or ARB locker out back and you will be good to go.
That'll get you thinking for now.
![big grin :D](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)
Current rides:
2013 Toyota Tundra DC 4x4
2008 Dodge Nitro 4x4
2005 Nissan Sentra 1.8S Special Edition
Mileage spreadsheet
Vans owned:
1986 Safari 2.5L 4 speed manual - scrapped
1995 Astro 2WD conversion 4.11 posi, shift kit, DHC rock rails - sold to Skippy
1998 Astro 4x4 D44, D60, NP231, full hydraulic system with 9k# Milemarker winch and snow plow - sold to Lockdoc
2003 Astro AWD all stock - traded for a 3/4 ton truck
2005 AWD, 4.10's - sold to skippy