drumroll please
My new 4.44 built by LAN is in and fully functional. I am very happy with it. The shifts are very quick. My best estimation (not having taken the car to the track at all) is that the combination of both the 4.44 and the performance rebuild have resulted in a 2 second improvement in the quarter mile. Because I did the performance build and 4.44 swap at the same time, it is difficult for me to say just how much faster the shifts alone make the car.
I was a little worried at first because the darned thing shifted so hard i thought it was gonna tear my car in two! It settled down a little more each day though, and now after about 150 miles on it it seems to be comfortable in it's new home. I would now classify the shifts as fast and firm, not jarring.
Overall it seems that LAN has pulled through with this transmission. The real test for me is over the next 5-10 years. I wanted a faster transmission, but more importantly I wanted it to be rebuilt by someone who is familiar with the tendancies of OUR transmissions.