The price is fine.. I'd pay it if I didn't already have one. Let's be serious, this is one of the best mods ever produced for the Protege and is likely to give you the most power per dollar compared to any other mod we have available. Plus it has the flex section and an additional O2 bung for your wideband.
And if someone has taken over Pope's castings, they haven't done anything with them (not yet at least) cuz it's not like you can go and just buy one any time you're up for it. So I would say that the very few remaining pipes have every right to be priced more than they were originally purchased for, the same is happening with Steedspeed manifolds and Perrin/Turbolife FMICs.
Anyway, bump for a great item and good luck to the seller!