[Monochron]

Chain and sprockets may be a good idea as our team has no experience with them. I would have to factor in the costs of chain accessories like a breaker and holder(?), though, as I never want to do chains by hand/pliers again like my old team used to.
If I go with the round shaft I should be able to save ~$20 by switching to sprocket/chain, but the cost of accessories would mitigate that. Still though, trying something new has its benefits.

As for the side bearing block, I was going to use it to hold the bearings for the gearbox shaft. I was kind of assuming that you had something similar in your model as you aren't using the VersaBlock at the gearbox.

As for CAD, unfortunately no. I started learning CAD recently but don't actually have a spare computer to put it on. We are trying to find mentors to teach CAD, but as of now I am the only one learning it.