Jesse off hand I would say your already kicking it pretty hard. Since your amp has a 2 pill driver stage you can run a simple 25-30 watt radio and let the drivers do all the hard work. By running more peak input all you will do is stress your amp more and cause it to run hotter. All that for a handfull of watts that no one will even notice.
Here some info I got from the X-Force site.........yea yea I know you have a Davemade but the facts are pretty much the same. The next difference is the TnT amp listed is class B and not a class C splatter box. But you can still see what the suggested dead key and peak input levels are.
TNT T1200
Transistors 2 SC2290 driving 6 x 2SC2879
Dimensions H 4 3/4' x L 12' x W 7 3/4'
Amp Draw (maximum) 120
Class B biasing
SSB Delay yes
Pre-amp yes
Driver Required N/a
Power Output (RMS) 400 Watts
Power Output (PEP) 725 Watts
Driven Power (RMS) 650 Watts
Driven Power (PEP) 1200 Watts
install recommended with 2ga wire
and 150a fuse. Max input carrier of
3-4w or 450w max carrier from amp.
Max peak input 40w
Back when I used to run AM alot I remember talking to you. I thought you were is Texas by the Rio Grand maybe. You were smoken up here in Indiana no doubt.