I was going to use a DTR 650nm diode or maybe 638nm 300mW and yeah im going to run 2x 16340s. For the second build im going to do a m140 with 1.25a driver or a 405nm with a dif driver
Thank you all; for the advice, thoughts, and opinions. It has been a great help and frankly, a pleasure.
I did get my new 16340s in the mail; finally my driver is running at the proper voltage and I get to use the capacity of the cells. I've left it on the tripod for well over 15 minutes at a time with no issues.