Isuzurover,
I have offered my point of view without sarcasm and I can see there is little point in offering counter views as you seem to always look at the Isuzu through rose coloured glasses.
Lardy - you have a number of 101 operators on here who have already been through a lot of the considerations that you are going through now. many other comentators are basing their views on other landrover products and have no 101 experience - it is a vastly different experience.
101 Ron has helped me immensely and I have invariably found his advice to be spot on and I suggest you consider his advice carefully.
Whatever configuration you go for you must keep the transfer case in its current position - the driveshafts already operate outside of specifications and moving one way or the other will cause driveshaft grief. Other people have tried a myriad of options and not resolved the issue. If the gearbox and engine you choose is going to be longer than original then major modifications to the tunnel and changes to the weight distribution will be required.
As Ron has indicated - weight until you get your vehicle - drive it a bit and if you still think changes are needed then go for it.
Alan has just posted he is getting 16l/100km from his Mazda powered 101 (a nice 101 it is too) - on road at cruising 90-100kph I get 20l/100km from my 3.5 V8 petrol (gas about 25l/100km). A well set up dual fuel system 4.6 V8 will do a little better due to its better torque - the one area where the 3.5v8 does drop off a bit is long hills on the highway.
Garry

