I'll answer my own question.
The cheaper pump sems to work fine.
50° drop! And that's with slightly less than 24 oz. of freon (should be 28 oz.) and an accumulator recyled from another car.
I might still have a leak or maybe I just didn't tighten a hose enough. I got impatient and wanted to know if the compressor was good since I never had it running in this car.
I suspect that HF gauges aren't very accurate. My low and hi pressure readings were a little higher than they should have been.
If it's hot I may just pop a stereo in, skip NED, and drive around all day Saturday.
Anyone know of a local source for pump oil?