$8k is a lot without knowing the history of the motor. Especially the head gasket and 200k miles. It's over due for the head gasket issue if it hasn't been replaced yet.
Even if you do most of that work yourself, the parts cost are going to stack up because you're going to want to change everything on the front of the motor and up above. Don't loose those cam covers retainers on the back of the motor. Make sure to change both the knock sensor and wiring extension to the top of the motor if you're down that far. Head work, you'll be down that far.
The 3vze is not a bad motor, and lives up to it's reputation as 3 point slow. But if you do anything to it, it's just better to replace everything you can while your there because you're there and putting it all back together takes a lot time and effort.
