When I was serious about racing, I sold my manual transmission truck and stepped up to an automatic.
That said, when I was trying to drag race my manual, I had a 99' with Valair Single Clutch and He351 retrofit turbo, about 500 HP to the wheels. I would rev it up to 3800 rpm free rev, launch in 4x4 2nd gear, and let out the clutch within the first 5-10 feet of the race = fast and smooth. That truck made 6-8 psi free revving that high and my best 60' was 1.86 seconds. The downside is the launch halfway welds the clutch and the 2-3 shift which is brutal anyway, was extremely difficult to make consistently. 8-10 passes later ranging from 14.40 to 14.95 the 3rd gear synchros were shot.
I honestly believe those 4x4 launches were violent enough to produce mid 1.7 second 60' times, it's just that I was always coasting shortly after launch trying to make the 2-3 gear shift so only 75% of the first 60' were under power.
Now, for down the track shifting, the best method I found was no-lift shifting. What I mean is keep the throttle on the floor and use the clutch to shift normally. This helps keep the motor under boost and the extra inertia of the high rpm motor getting slowed down when the clutch is let out on the gear shifts propels the truck forward gives a nice little boost in overall ET.
Like stated, that truck only weighed 6850 or so and had dyno'd 499.2 to the rear wheels. 14.40 is pathetic for that horsepower to weight ratio. After owning an automatic, I would never go back to a stick shifted truck for playing, racing, etc. The only place I'd still prefer a manual tranny is towing in the hills because 5 or 6 gears works a little better than 4 gears found in our common automatic transmissions. I've never towed with a newer 6 speed auto truck, they probably tow even better and are more comparable to the older 5-6 speed manual trucks.
My final bit of advice, if you want to race, build a separate truck. It sucks beating on your transportation vehicle unless you spend big $$$ to make it reliable. I'd rather spend my money making a cheap unreliable truck fast and use the left over for other hobbies, trips, guns, etc.
