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I've always been a fan of auto trans.....but you want a manual.
The SM465 is the obvious choice for a transmission. Super strong, cheap, will bolt right up to the engine, and easy to find since there were about 40 million of them bolted to small block Chevys that rolled out of the factory.
Nothing wrong with the SM420 except usually much harder to locate since they haven't been used in production for 30+ years now. They do have a slightly lower 1st gear than the SM465 but the difference is very small (I believe it's about 7.0:1 vs. 6.55:1).
The NP205 is super stout and fairly easy to find because so many rolled out of the factory, though you are going on 20 years since it was found in Chevy trucks. It's also pretty easy to twin-stick it to allow front digs or 2 low operation. Downsides are it is heavy and has a poor low range ratio. Though the combination of the granny gear manual and V-8 in a presumably light vehicle would probably be fine.
Most people don't consider this option but starting in the late-80's you could get a NP241 t-case that would bolt up to the SM465. It's much lighter and has a significantly better low range ratio than the 205, can be found in both passenger and driver side drops, and slip yoke eliminators are fairly cheap and easy to install. The only downsides is you can't twin-stick them, and must have some sort of skid plate to protect the aluminum case. These were used in up to 1-ton trucks with 454's with Chevy, and Dodge used a variant behind the Cummins engine.
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