I was in a similar boat, my dealer had two Nismos on the lot - a pearl white 7AT + tech and a red 6MT.
As much as I originally wanted the MT, I couldn't help but notice how you cannot see the sexy new red accents against the rest of the car when it's painted red. The rear view monitor in the Tech package was also a big selling point, that sort of thing should actually be standard in cars with poor rear visibility like Z. I could have added it after the fact, but it was definitely icing on the cake.
But the deciding factor was just like you, the test drive. The 7AT is quite a different experience from any other automatic transmission I've ever driven, even those with a manual mode. The paddles are part of the reason, but even in the boring D mode you can really feel it when it shifts. It's not tuned for passenger comfort in any way shape or form and that's just the way I like it
