Thanks for all of the responses. Even if the majority opinion was not for taildragger, the fact that some call the trike gear a "built-in firewall degluer" is enough for me.

I've already talked to two different instructors in the club I'm joining, and they all seem helpful and experienced. I ordered my taildragger conversion parts last night, plus new Sullivan pushrods due to LT-40 pushrod concerns.

-Jeff