You need to get to work saving our beaches instead of worrying about boating. :big grin
coned cle's work just fine. whoever told you that, don't know what they are talking about. for his application it will work nicely. i have had sportmasters on my boat in the past , and have a coned cle on it now. if set up properly they work great. if your putting this on a boat capable of over 110 m.p.h , that may be a different story. i have no experience with that. having owned my boat for over 15 yrs. with many different motors and gearcases and setups. i can tell you, i have spent ALOT of time over 90 mph with a coned cle ..and never had an issue with the way it handled or drove.
The guy is one of the top three cone people. Told me if it was him he'd get a diff L/U to put cone on. Said for the 03 with big hp the cle wa not the best choice.
you will be well satisfied . that gearcase will work very well on your setup. if you have cable steering, make sure your cables are good and free and all the slop is adjusted out of your cables.( if you dont have hydraulic}.also if you look back at your motor when rocking the wheel back and forth, and notice some movement from the front tube in the holder or cable..allison makes some close tolerance peices(tube and tube holder) that will get rid of that play.(alot of standard peices seem to find their way on these boats}. properly set up... with some seat time, you should be able to wring it out.. top speed in smooth water,for as long as you want to. many people have alot of problems driving at speed in these boats, due to improper setup, what you did to your gearcase was the first step in the right direction, verify the above, and with the right setback and engine height.. your all set.. wear your life jacket and kill switch tethered and have fun, again ..properly set up ,your gonna be well satisfied