Mark, we are running the twin shock mounts on the front and also had the shearing problem when the rally was being put through it's paces. We welded a tab on the front of the mount and made up a brace which runs from the chassis and bolts onto the tab. So far we've had no problems with it and it seems to do the job.
Shock wise, we are running 8 x Reigers with remote canisters and HT Suspension for the progressive springs - total cost was £2,730.00 for the full set which is cheap (everything is relative) and performs extremely well. The good thing about them is that they are rebuildable.
Anyway, you can see all of this when you arrive here in November.