By the time you buy a carb ($300-400), intake ($125-200), distributor ($125-250), fuel pressure regulator, plumbing, TCC lockup kit, and do all that work, I don't see where it's any cheeper than the HSR.
The HSR will make more power than some carb setups and less than others; say, more than a Performer intake and a Holley 1850, but less than a Brodix HV1000 and a Holley HP950. It's meaningless to claim that the HSR or a carb will make "more" power, without qualifying what carb setup you're running.
Plus of course, carbs are more forgiving of the types of modifications done elsewhere in the engine to increase power, specifically THE CAM. Meaning, ULTIMATELY, the HSR reaches a limit, but carb setups in general can get past that.
I believe if I already had a TPI car, with all of its FI facilities installed and operating, the HSR would be near the top of the list of choices.
I would use a MiniRam, however, for MAX POSSIBLE power out of a side-draft TB type of arrangement.
If I were in your shoes, with a HSR sitting on the shelf, I wouldn't be sitting at the computer typing on the Internet. I'd be out in the garage turning intake bolts. ANYTHING to get that LTR crap off of my motor.