Ant:
You are correct. The composition of the gears on a RR v. a drag transmission are different and that is why you can't use them for different applications from what they were intended.
Regarding the ratio and 2nd/3rd. gear, I had David Kee machine parts for a "white stripe", Sebring Box (Toploader) that has a much different ratio than the standard Toploader. If you go to his site, look under the "White Stripe" Toploader link for those ratios. It is possible to configure a TL with the appropriate gear set, if you want. His site is:
www.4speedtoploaders.com.