on my setup below i'm getting very good trq off the bottom. i'm thinking about going to a bigger cam. i want it to peak at about 5000 or 5500. i'm thinking about a comp XE262 or something inbetween. when they say having power from about 1000 or 1500 how low is the power below that?

 

I think that with a 283 you will get very bad low rpm performance with an XE262. What you have right now is about the maximum you can use and expect decent low rpm power.