best programmer/tuner for the money

I have a 03 Z71 with 150,000 miles . After changing the tires to 305/70/17 I had a big drop in power, and the truck down shifts constantly on the highway. With that being said I'm looking to order a programmer/tuner . The ability to make changes for after market tires and lift is a must. Got a cold air intake on the way , and new exhaust has been installed. This is the supership programmer I got my eye on ... any feed back or suggestions would be appreciated.

http://www.amazon.com/Superchips-2865-Flashpaq-Truck-Cars/dp/B001VZL2MI/ref=pd_sbs_auto_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1YA7D8BV4QGXZE365VV1

This question has been answered many times on the forums if you simply do a search.

The "best" programmer is a loaded question that should be based on your requirements. For me personally, a Predator canned programmer would be what I would choose. They are no longer available new so you would be buying used, which means you should be able to get it cheap. Just make sure it has been unmarried and will upload to your pcm before purchasing a used one.

With the increase in tire size (not to mention the additional weight penalty that figures into the equation a small amount) you are probably right on the edge of being able to keep the torque converter locked. You went from a stock tire size of 31.6" to a new size of 33.8" so you increased your gear ratio considerably (roughly 23%) and have less torque available at a given speed. If you have 3.73 gears you have taken your effective gear ratio down to a 2.87; if you already have 4.10s you dropped it to an effective ratio of 3.15. Your best alternative would be to go to 4.10s (typically recommended for 33" tires), or maybe even 4.54s (typically recommended for 35" tires).

I had the same issue on a '94 Sonoma when I went from stock 235/75/17 (roughly a 30" tire) to a 31" tire. Any little bit of throttle input on the highway would cause the converter to unlock unless I was running 80 mph or higher. My remedy was to go back to 30" tires when replacements were needed.

A programmer may not do you any good. If you can get it cheap, it's certainly worth a shot.

As said elsewhere NONE of the plug it in and forget it type "programmers" do much for you. They are essentially just useful for changing gear ratios due to new tires or gearing. Any so called performance gains are hard to actual measure. Any initial Seat Of the Pants boosts are quickly learned by the computer and you lose it within a week or two. To get a REAL performance boost you need to look at getting a custom tune from a tuner or buying a full blown tuning setup that will let you adjust everything. But beyond that what has already been said about bigger tires holds true. With bigger tires you are putting your truck under much more load to do anything and you may need to change the gearing. But if you DO change the gearing you are looking at both front and rear differential gears.

I have Looked at changing the gears, but the price for the time being is out of the question of me . Would \ getting a programmer that can adjust for tire size not help? I'm not looking to make a race truck out of it lol. I have never had a programmer so sorry if that is a dumb question....

All the programmer will do for you is get the speedo correct for your tires. The computer may compensate on your gear shifting for speed but it is also based on RPM and load so you may not be satisfied until you change the gearing on your truck. But a programmer should make a somewhat noticeable difference for you at least for displaying the proper speed. Since I have not used a programmer I don't know if simply changing the speed will make it shift right. Depending on the programmer you may be able to adjust your shift points as well.

Shift points are controlled by the computer based upon vehicle speed and throttle position.  With your speed being off due to the tire change your shift points are probably not optimum.  Handheld tuners can get your speed reading adjusted to be correct for the bigger tires, but your effective gearing will be off as indicated by MyBigToy.  If I were you I'd try to buy a second-hand handheld tuner - you can usually get them for about $200.  Adjust for your tires and see if you need to do anything more.  If you do you can always sell the second-hand tuner for what you paid for it.