I think doing a t-top would be nastier than a hardtop. The things is, make sure the shop knows what they're doing, as all your body metal could flex once that top support is gone. That's the biggest issue I can see.
Why not just cut the middle of the roof off the top of a hard top and then tack it in place? Minimal Bondo, and then all you would need is the headliner and dome light. As far as the vinyl goes, I'm sure you can just rip it off and grind the glue off.