Yeah, the 01M is not the best slushbox out there for sure. About the only thing I would do is maybe stock manual injectors. Easy mod, give you a slight bump in power, and recode the TCM to fixed Sport mode and ditch the silly DSP.
I do not think the 01M is really any better or worse with the ALH than it is with any of the other engines VAG used them with. They just like to die no matter what. At least manual conversions seem to be common enough that the procedure is pretty cut and dried, as well as parts sourcing.
Still, if the 01M is still kicking, no reason to intentionally do anything to destroy it. So go easy on it and try and take care of it as best you can.
I am part of a Eurovan group too, and there is a post almost daily of a dead trans (the VR6 T4s used the "truck" version, the 01P, but it shares a lot of parts with the 01M). And what sucks even worse with those is that is the ONLY way ANY of the 1998+ Eurovans were sold here: with the pump sucking chain chucking VR6 and the rando-fail 01P slushbox.