I agree.
I don't see why you couldn't just rebuild a pump to run in reverse (flip or redesign the impeller) like the Gen-II LT1. I like the idea of a gear-driven water pump. I think that requires the block to be machined for the gear drive, though. You could always go with an electric pump on an LT1 housing.
AFR heads would be the way to go. They're rather pricey at about $1200 a pair but not when you consider the performance benefits.
You wouldn't need to run the opti if you had an LT1 front cover. Just put a freezeplug in the hole when you remove the opti seal.
Later,
Colin