Wow, good question. I like the Tacoma analogy.
You may be overthinking it.
I’ve never heard someone saying the Jake had too much flop. Its no where near as slack as today’s mountain bikes. 71.5 isn’t slack by “modern” mountain bike or gravel bike standards – but slack compared to CX or road bike standards (medium frame)
Generally, the long/low/slack is good for descending (stability), but not necessarily for climbing. I have a bike like the crux, and it climbs like it has a motor on it compared to a mountain bike. Its amazing. I’d say the short wheel base and trail hold it back on fast decents.
Ultimately – go to your LBS and get some demo or rental bikes that have geometry like you are interested in.
Personally, I’m happy with 2 wheel sets.
32mm tires give me snappy handling, then fatter tires (up to 50-54 in the front) give me more trail, more pneumatic trail, and just slower handling if I have knobs (and as I tend to go bigger on the front, that reduces HTA & my trail even more).