I had the same thing happen to me almost 15 years ago. I had a 2 seat '92 turbo Z when I met my wife. This was my first big boy car and I loved it.
One thing led to another and we were expecting our first baby. I sold that car thinking it was the right thing to do. I've regretted it since...
My understanding is Toyota has a different size rear diff to match up to the different gear ratios. This could be all in my head but I feel more confident accelerating. The AT was very snappy.