Mitsubishi Repair: MANUAL OR AUTOMATIC, gas mileage, horsepower increase

Question
I HAVE A 1ST GEN. 1.8 ECLIPSE, A 94 BASE MODEL TO BE EXACT. I WAS REALLY PLANNING ON DOING AND ENGINE SWAP TO A 2.0 DOHC ENGINE....NOW THE QUESTION IS "SHOULD I SWAP OUT THE ENGINE AND KEEP IT AUTOMATIC OR SHOULD I KEEP IT MANUAL?"
WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHICH WOULD YOU GO FOR? AND PLEASE DONT SAY WHICHEVER IS MORE CONVINIANT, JUST LET ME KNOW WHICH WOULD YOU GO FOR AND IF YOU THINK ITS A GOOD IDEA!

Answer
Hugo,
Going from your 1.8L to a 2.0L will definitely give you a horsepower increase.  I would recommend keeping your manual transmission.  It would be lighter, cheaper, and much less of a hassle.  You would also be required to do rewiring for an automatic transmission for the transmission's computer.

I'd keep the manual transmission because you can get better power and better gas mileage with it.  Plus, I think a manual transmission is more fun to drive; you'll feel that you have more control when cornering.
Good luck!