Too much gear in first will result in wasted time and rubber, as you suspect. 10:1 is usually about as much as the tires can handle with a reasonable 400.
A final drive ratio at or slightly below the mid 2s should work just fine depending on your engine specs. I'd suggest the TKO600 with the .64 fifth and keeping your 3.55 gears. A mostly stock 400 should have no trouble rolling along at 2000 rpm, just make sure you have your mechanical and vacuum advance settings right and watch the temp gauge on your first few runs.
