You can take the disconnect housing off the axle, flip it upside down, and reinstall it. It will then hold the shift collar in the locked position.
You can switch to '95 YJ axleshafts for the larger ujoint while retaining the disconnect. You can go to TJ axleshafts to get rid of the disconnect, but there's a special axle seal that will need installed.
Gear ratio depends on engine size, tranny type, tire size, type of wheelin, etc. Hard to give you a recommendation there without more info.
You had get on the ball with the mods, we don't want to hear about that Exploder pulling you anywhere
