The great ECU debate

Wanted to get peoples opinions on what stand alone to get.  I have an 86 Fiero GT that was my first car over 25 years ago. In that time its had the stock 2.8 on Nitrous, then a Northstar and now a 3500 60 degree V6.  When I had the northstar I used a Holley commander 950, it made me hate standalones more then I can say.  The car, even after tuning was a science project, it was never something I'd call reliable.

The cars been in storage for 10 years while I worked on my 964, V8 corvair and a slew of other stuff.  I really want to get it back on the road. The motor is the pushrod 3.5V6, 201hp stock which I am in the midst of turbo-ing.  A common setup for an N'/A swap is using a GM 7730 ECU, unfortunately it really seems like a lot of work to wire it for that ECU and get all the necessities to tune it (moates, chip burners, etc)  So I have been looking at Megasquirt MS3 and Haltech elite.   I only plan to run about 10 psi on the motor and really want drivability above all else.  I'm not so worried about cost so much as the best solution. I don't need traction control or boost controllers, etc.  Just reliable. 

I read a lot, don't post often, but some of you may remember my turbo civic and the shenanigans that came along with it.  (Im not pink shirt guy, but he is a friend) 

As long as it's not the later 7x version v6 no issues doing these an nearly any MS version. Depending on the budget you allow the MS3 Pro Evo is similar in features/price to the Haltech 1500 (minus DBW, which you won't use). I have put these on a few Fiero V6s and a few Fieros with different engines as well with good luck. 

I think who is going to do the setup/tuning is an important factor, especially if it isn't you. Figure that out early and the rest seems like it can fall in place easily.

The best ECU is the one you have the best support for. A local experienced tuner is more valuable than a forum - one person with experience with 100 implementations is better than 100 people who have each done it once.

I have always used megasquirt (MS1V2.2 and MS2V3) because that was what was in my budget at the time. If my budget allows it I will use Haltech in the future. Because that is what my tuner prefers and my experiences workling with them on other projects. Their support is fantastic. 

We had Haltech in Australia working overtime to develop a semi sequential spark and fuel setup for a V12. They were wonderful to work with and really seemed to enjoy the challenge. I shudder to think of how much of a mess a thread on msextra.com would have been to get us to the same result. Haltech also worked with us to get an Aprilia RSV4 motor running on their ECU. First (and only?) one done.

I have only ever had excellent results with Megasquirt. I love it and have 3 ECUs on a shelf in front of me for future projects. I am just so impressed by the service and support from Haltech I want to switch teams.

Personally, I'd use a GM computer from a later 3100/3400, and HPTuners.  It will be much cheaper than any aftermarket system and much more robust.

When I went to a turbo on my 88 Fiero, I rolled back to an earlier GM ECU from 1985 because it had the where-with-all to run a boosted engine.

When I swapped a 3.4 GM V6 into my 1956 MG, I opted for a pre OBD2 ECM because it was chippable and I could have chips programmed and mailed to me rather than removing the whole PCM and mailing it to the US where the best tuners were.

I suggest that you contact Ryan Gick on Sinister Performance (he is very familiar with all things GM including Fieros) and ask him your question.  http://www.gmtuners.com/