Yeah, and I was supposed to just be swapping a stock cam for another stock cam. Rough figures were about $800 for complete AFM delete (cam, lifters, all gaskets, etc.). I easily tripled that when it was all said and done. #scopecreep
I never intended to invest this into a 200K-mile 5.3 when I wanted a 6.0 or 6.2. It's justified to me in that I can easily sell off or use most of the extras elsewhere. So, you might factor this into your plans.
At the time (early-mid 2020), the converter I got wasn't all that bad. I think they went up $100 not long after. The usual cheap go-to is a converter for a Trailblazer 4.2 I-6. It stalls to 2600 behind a 5.3. But, it might have some annoying downsides, such as feeling too loose when idling in gear. I looked at aftermarket reman'ed TB converters, but didn't feel safe not knowing the quality of the rebuild or the of the materials used. For not much more, I got the one from CircleD. After tuning, it seems to feel almost like stock. The difference in part-throttle characteristics are noticeable, but not "bad". It didn't take long at all to get used to. Idling in gear, it'll move almost like stock. I've towed a small loaded utility trailer (1,100lbs.) from Tampa, FL to West Baton Rouge, LA and a compact 4-door car on a dolly over 100 miles including city traffic and long bridge inclines with my setup. Had excellent results in power response, MPG and trans temps. You get what you pay for. In normal driving, you might feel the sub-2000 RPM loss in power from that cam. It all really depends on how you drive and what you want out of it.