Bro' Hal has been busy on both this thread and another giving you a lot of the starting points, especially talking to the local CDOW/Chamber of Commerce Laisons.

Be careful of analysis paralysis on the statistical information. A GMU is a HUGE piece of land. It is possible to go the the "best" GMU and hunt in a "bad" spot, and vise versa. If the GMU was broken down by township or section, then you'd have something, as is it is almost too big to tell the whole tale. Make sure that a "good performing" GMU has lots of public land in it as you won't be hunting on private land and still make your budget.

A GMU where the terrain is gentle (for your lungs), has lots of public land in it (a place for you), has lots of unsold left over permits (over-populated with elk) and there is a cooperative CDOW or Chamber of Commerce Laison person to give you a guiding hand (necessary intelligence) is a good start.

There's your homework, feel free to "bump" us for more info.

EKM