Cool writeup! I am a big fan of blue cars as well and the Viper is what got me started with them 13 years ago. I drove both cars today as I was doing my winter fill up and Staybil treatment. I have to say that the cars are almost exact opposites on the sports car scale. You will not see much Viper love on this forum as I have read many a random derogatory comment throughout the years. You have to love the look and the torque, if either of those are not what you want than it is not the right car for you.
As for the heat, as soon as you remove the cats the heat goes away. My car never gets hot inside due to the side exhausts. I think if you had a ROE on your car it might have made your decision to sell harder. However, now that you have sold it, I would not look back and go right to a Gen V. I got a ride in a friends a few weeks back and it is like a new and improved Gen II with 200 more HP and a better suspension. What's not to like? I want one but can't bring myself to sell my baby....