Pull the 300. There are a couple of guys around here that pull 300's and they are very impressive for a 6 cylinder. I have never seen any 300 come in last unless they were pullin in the big block class. The one guy is running an 89 f-150 300 with 33" tires, posi rear and enough weight to make the 6500 and 7800 lb classes. I have never seen his tires quit spinning in the 5 years that I have been watching him pull. The motor is stock. Actually he bought the truck for $200 and just started pulling it aside from installing a mini-spool in the rear. He beats V-8's all the time. Now he has only won 1 time that I know of but everybody loves it when he comes to the line because of the big ole 6.
Oh yeah, his truck is 4x4 and a manual tranny also.