welcome to the wonderful (and expensive) world of r/c, and to RCM.
first, how did you smoke the stock esc? is it a faulty controller, or was there another problem?
here's my opinion. forget option 1 altogether. you could run into more problems than what you already have. option 2 and 3 are the best bets, although i prefer option 3. and you can now run a Mamba Max with a Neu, too.
i'd keep your SPC packs for now. you might get a bit more performance with lipo, but no where near the bang for your buck as going from stock brushed motors to the brushless caliber of a Neu.
good luck!