As of now, I have decided on the following configuration for my RV-7

Taildragger - I think it looks much nicer, and the challenge is one I'd like to take on. When I flew RC, I had 2 nose gear planes out of over 50. 1 a trainer, the other a scale P-38. The airplane is designed to fly, and the less wheels in the breeze the better

Slider canopy - Thought about this a lot, and at the current time the slider is the winner. There's a lot of pros and cons about both, but what tipped the scales for me was a story I read in the RVator newsletter. A fellow in a RV-6 was flying off some of his intial time when he had an oil leak. The oil spread out all over the canopy and left him flying blind. The story had a happy ending, however, the possibility of being in that situation leaves me wanting to be able to at least crack open the slider giving me much more visibility than a tip up canopy would if left open to float in trail. I also like the steel roll bar near my head

Engine  -  Probably a TMX IO- 360 from Mattituck. I'd consider a used Lycoming if I found one that I could trust the history on.

Propellor - Changed my mind-AGAIN!!  Gotta have a Hartzell. The Mooney spoiled me.

Avionics - A big Dynon EFIS, Garmin 496 panel mounted, and an eltronic EMS. I'll have a back up airspeed, altimeter etc. Radios will most likley be 1 nav/com with an indicator, 2nd com. Transponder and a stereo intercomm with some type of music input.