You are welcome, Levi.
Once you get things set up and get some experience with them, you will have a better idea of where you want to go with customizing the machine.
Welcome to the CNC world!
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Why don’t you look on eBay or Craigslist for a used heavier duty CNC router that suits your needs?
Here is a 4X4 listed locally. There may be a machine near you where you can go and inspect it in person.
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You are free to experiment with whatever work envelope you please. The reason that people point you to longer Y than X is not based on any taboo or dogma. There’s a reason.
long unsupported X => flex
flex => chatter & deflection
chatter & deflection => bad accuracy & bad finish & short tool life
compensation for bad accuracy & bad finish & short tool life => small DoC & WoC
small DoC & WoC => very (very) slow cuts
slow cuts => money lost
I am currently spending a lot of $ to build a machine from scratch. It’s going to be an order of magnitude stiffer than a stock X-Carve. The reason I am doing this to begin with is to reduce my cut times by at least 50%.
You are currently spending a lot of $ to build a modified X-Carve weaker than the stock. You will end up cutting at least 2 times slower compared to the flipped orientation.
But then time might not be your top priority. Which is fine.
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http://columbus.craigslist.org/for/5972708152.html
if only I had 30,000 
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Well I just placed my order. Now the waiting begins…
I did decide to extend the Y axis and not the X axis. Thank you to everyone for your thoughtful experienced comments. I also ordered a 0.8kw water cooled spindle so I hope the new x axis is able to handle weight difference from the dewalt 611 to the new spindle.
Is it pretty standard to take the entire 8 weeks or is it closer to 6 weeks?