Let's suppose I messed up my tranny and lost ALL gears... we'll also assume I have not yet pulled it off to look at anything.. again, going with assumptions that I need to purchase a new (used) transmission, what can I do to ensure I don't encounter future problems too often? shotpeening, cryo treating, welding etc... what should be done?

All three of those things is what I would do (weld the case, and shotpeen and cryo the gears). Beyond that, I don't really think there's very much that can be done (unless you get like a custom gearset or something).

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David
'98 Super Black SE w/stuff
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