Pitbull,
I replied to your post on the 1911forums (kbear38S) and I just want to stress that reliablity of Paras under IPSC use is poor. They are fine outside the hard use of competition and they are okay if you don't mind putting a lot of money into aftermarket parts. If you can't do the gunsmithing yourself, Para's are very expensive to keep running.
It'd strongly recommend a Kimber if your budget is limited. My wife got about 25,000 rounds through her Kimber before I got her an open gun and the only thing I ever replaced on it was recoil and firing pin springs. My Para was constantly in and out of my gunsmith's shop and the 6 or 8 guys I shoot with had similar experiences.
Understand I have nothing in particular against Para and I gain nothing by recommending anything else. I am merely recounting my experinces with that manufacturer.
If you do finally decide to go with the Para, I'd suggest you go with the P16. All other things being equal, used .40 S&W brass is extremely cheap, especially compared to .45 ACP which isn't as plentiful as it used to be. There's still a lot around but used .45 runs about $45USD and .40 is available as low as $15USD. Many people are able to get it for free.