Stick with that Holley, it'll perform circles around an Edelbrock (Carter AFB or QuadraJet whichever carb Edelbrock is now calling by their own name?). You can fit it with manual choke like you said you were going to do and all your starting problems will be solved.

Many of the old pickups (I mean pre-1970) had manual chokes regardless of the engine. They wouldn't start in the winter here either (Oklahoma) unless you used the choke. Manual chokes were just an accepted fact of life for a pickup back then. Using one on a hot engine with a big Holley is no different, and it's certainly not a good reason to swap for a lesser carb.

I've used, and am using all three kinds of carbs on smallblock Chevy engines (Q-Jets, AFBs, and Holleys) and I'll take a Holley hands down to the rest of them. When you punch the throttle with a Holley, especially a double-pumper, you get immediate response that you can feel in the seat of your pants. The other carbs don't do that quite as convincingly.

Put that manual choke on, get used to using it, and enjoy that big Holley, your engine will thank you with it's response.

Randy