Candyman! It's certainly been a while since I've seen you post anywhere. Great to have you back.
Neu motors are expensive, but they most certainly are worth it. Alternatively, you could wait a lil' while for the CastleNeu 1515 1Y to come out, within the next month or so. Should be every bit as good as a real Neu in terms of power/efficiency, and it's built tougher for truck use. The 1Y is insanely powerful on 5 or 6S, but then again, your NiMH cells will really struggle with that motor; it sucks one heck of a lot of juice.
Sounds like the 2.5D might be the way to go for you.