I have gone through and am going through some of the things that you mention. I did replace my older generation shrouds with new that did allow for mast raking. They are shorter (don't know exactly how much). I kept the original forestay, for now, so I had to make up some length there by adding an additional adjuster plate. I also recently replaced trap wires which are shorter than the originals.

The boat sails great and seems less pitchpole prone now. The weather helm has increased significantly and it is something I need to fix or learn to enjoy the workout. I also have the issue with not being able to sheet the jib in far enough when sailing upwind. I am curious about the "seaway" block modification that you mentioned to make the lower profile. It seems like I have to sheet the jib to the max just to sail on a beam reach.