Keep your 44 in the rear, especially if you already have it locked/geared/shafted.
A front axle is a good project to do when away at school. It took me about 4 years to do my front 44, mostly working on it a couple days at a time when I came back home from school.
If you do end up getting alloy shafts, make sure you do have some spares. I know some people dont worry about it, but its nice having peace of mind knowing you have even just a set of stock shafts. Start cruising the junk yards. I found a set of spare shafts for my axle (narrowed to waggy width) for under $50 for the set which also had a set of drive slugs attached.