okay, so here's a major project update for those curious
what's new:
I installed the manual steering rack, replaced the worn out components in the trans and reassembled it, attached it to the replacement engine, stripped the components that I no longer need off the engine, got the engine/trans in place and bolted them in the car, and I've begun hooking everything back up to the engine.
still to do before the end of November:
I have to hang the exhaust (which is ready to go in), replace some melted connectors and finish repairing some chewed up sections in the wiring harness (which I suspect are causing my parasitic drain and headlight issues), once the wiring harness is done I can reinstall the intake manifold and throttle body, and I'll replace/refill/bleed all the fluids in her. She'll still need more work, but she should be able to move under her own power. Unfortunately I'm losing my garage space soon, so that's probably all that will get done before the cold ends my fun. Just enough to move her under her own power to a spot where she can hibernate...
things to do next year:
-fix parasitic drain and get the pop-ups working (if repairing the rodent damage in the wiring harness doesn't solve this)
-replace shocks and springs
-replace fuel pump and lines
-install DTSS eliminators
-replace missing bits of carpet
-restore paint
-reassemble dash
things to do some time way in the future:
-replacing all carpet/headliner
-reupholstering seats
-window tint
-nitrous (maybe)
-new paint (blue)
and that should pretty much cover things