Yeah, I've been there, believe it or not. My son lives in Gadsden and we swung by there on the way back home a few trips ago and I picked up some bocote, cocobola, zebrawood, and purple heart from them. Since then I found out I have a place about 5 miles from my house that sells almost every exotic wood you can think of. Go figure.
As for the blade, the last time I tried to rip some 1.75" lams of hickory, my saw was really struggling. I was using the combo blade that came on it (which is probably dull by now). I have read since that the thin kerf blades with fewer teeth work best for ripping. I'm leaning toward the Freud thin kerf 25t blade. If your 28 tooth blade works good that one should do OK too. I'll let you know.