I just started checkin out the boards again, and I'm sorry I didn't reply to this sooner. Yes, I have actually owned a Talladega Pro before, and like you I have a Monaco Elite. Build-wise the Pro is typical Hamer, meaning impeccable. Binding, finishing, hardware (heck, I liked the TonePros/Klusons so much I thought about putting them on my Elite just for laughs).
Anyway, I'd say the Elite is definitely the more rock oriented of the two, and like you I've thought about switching the pickups to get to a different sound, then I realize I have other guitars for that. The main thing that bothered me about the Pro was the V-shaped neck. For the life of me, I could not get over it. I'm a fan of a substantial neck profile, but damn, whenever I played it my brain kept nagging about it.
Soundwise, it was a lot clearer than the Elite, and sang more, whilst the Elite ROARS with the stock pickups. I apologize for the brevity there, I'm not very good with the adjectives and tone lingo