Hey Ben,
Yep pretty normal, would have run rich as fark while the pipe was off... You are lucky you didn't foul the plugs... JEZ will likely do a smoke test for you to find any leaks.
I wouldn't suggest you swap the turbo and drive as the 3076 will need more fuel down low (what ECU do you have?)... If you stay off boost it may be ok, it's mostly highway but you can't boost up hills etc or it'll be bad news...
Ask JEZ what his thoughts are?
Good choice on the 3076, you should gain a few hundred rpm spool while not losing too much power...