Ok, She runs, she drives, and its all working. I do have a few things to improve though.
Tap shift wasnt working, In the end I said fuck it, I have put it off long enough and ordered HP Tuners so I could learn and not have to send my pcm/tcm back and forth 12 times. I will not tune the motor, its the same tune since I put the 6.2 in and it runs great, I will focus on trans tuning.
I say "tuner" but I consider the guy I used as more of an "integrator." He does basic tunes so it runs but he specializes in integrating non-OE options into Colorado's and H3's so they act and look factory. He did a great job with that. Anyways, after blindly digging into HP Tuners I realized he had tap shift setup under D4 mode but tap shift was setup for the D5 position (3 on the gear indicator on the dash.) So, I fixed that and tap shift was working! The parameters of how it works is in need of improvement and was constantly being overriden by the computer and its parameters set. I will blindly try to fix that and hope I don't hurt the trans in doing so. If it's in manual mode I want to be the computer. That is that. I don't want to be overridden. I say blindly but I try to learn and understand on HPtuner forums before doing it but in a sense I am clueless lol.
I thrashed for 7 hours last night getting tap shift to work and building a trans/oil pan skid. I put that off for far too long. The 4l60e trans centerline to lowest point on the transmission pan was pretty high so it was never in immediate danger unless you really fuck up. I had a nice scrape on the pan from the 4l60 when pulled but it did live for a long time. The 6l80 pan compared to centerline is LOW. The skid I made had to sit 1.5in lower than the t case skid. Making the legs were a bear to clear everything. It required removing the coilovers and bringing it from full bump to full droop multiple times and the legs had to have bends in them to clear.
After I was finished, I learned that the Pontiac G8 6l80 pan is a shallow pan that sits 1.25in higher than the current truck pan I have. I can gain 1.25in of clearance for a net loss of .25in lower than the t case skid. That sounds like an automatic win to me. My only fear is that the shallow pan will starve the pick up or converter of fluid when on steep inclines....we all know a G8 isnt sitting at steep inclines. Does anyone have experience with a G8 pan or experience with shallow pans on other transmissions?
So, after a long night of wrenching and prep, I wake up at 5:15, hit the road around 5:50 to meet at a gas station near the trailhead at 6:30. We meet up, bullshit for a bit, air down, hit the trail around 7:30 and the 1st major obstacle I break a u joint. I am putting on my weight on the front end and was wedged. Was it the new 4:1 first gear bringing me from 83:1 with an auto to 110:1? I thought it defintely could be but I have also broken a spicer 60 u joint before with 83:1. So, I kill my 2nd dana 60 spicer u joint which wiped out the ears. It took a minute to get out of the situation I was in, get to flat ground and park it. I walked the rest of the trail to see the other guy finish and then headed out from there. I got home around 10:45am and installed my Yukon Super joints and chromo shafts which I knew I should have done back in June when I got it all.
So, its installed and now I am sitting on HPtuners trying to work through tap shift parameters. I also need to figure out why it states I am doing 80 mph at like 5mph in low range when the computer is told its in low.
The drive home was uneventful, it was about 70 degrees out, I had the ac blowing 34-35 degree air, I had full doors on and was living the luxrury life. The one grade I hit was substantially better with the 6 speed, having less rpm drops it just let it maintain better speeds without revving or bogging. I also thought on the way home, wow, I had 40's and with 40's I stopped breaking things, it held 4th gear TC locked at 80 mph. Life was great....but I cant leave well enough alone so 43s go on, start breaking shit again and wanted a 6l80 to help with road manners. Stupidity at its finest but also fun. TBD on HP tuners stuff, I want to let the trans start in 2nd if I want to. I would go from 110:1 to 64:1, I used to be 83:1, with the stock 4:1 t case I was 62:1.
I think I could live with 64:1. I ditched the factory 4:1 in favor of the 205 doubler for strength, front digs, and gearing options for multiple terrains.
Then I went to the 6l80 for better highway manners, and better options in sand/snow where having less rpm drops can be beneficial when the foot is on the floor. The low range just happened as a result so I am not against running in 2nd gear from a stop in double low but I am hoping the chromoly shafts and super joints take care of that.