pros and cons of options to remedy turbo surge?

[wood4heat]

I'm running an '03 7.3 4X4 auto with 4" turbo back exhaust, an AFE stage II intake and Phoenix chip. Running the 80hp DD tune without a load it runs great with no surge. Towing light (around 6500lbs) it begins to surge only if I try pulling a hill at low RPM with lots of throttle. This past weekend I was pulling between 10,000 and 11,000lbs still on the 80hp DD tune. The exhaust temps hit 1200° a handfull of times but only for 10 seconds or less before I backed out of the throttle. With this load turbo surge was more of an issue. Dropping it down to third seemed to take care of it but who wants to down shift when there is ample power to pull the higher gear?

With all of that in mind what are the pros and cons of the various things people do to cure turbo surge? At the moment I'm leaning towards an ATS ported housing with my factory impeller. Anyone run this setup? Did it work, add noise, any change in performance, what can you tell me?

I've also read a lot about the Wicked Wheel making a lot of noise. Any truth to this or have people blown the issue out of proportion? How well does the WW alone work in terms of surge?

Last I've read an adjustment to the waste gate will eliminate surge. Seems like you would also be giving up boost, is that correct?

Any other advice short of going back to stock or quitting towing is welcomed.

As always thanks for your input!