Daniel, I’d echo your comments with some amplifications.
First, if before going to Duluth, you really understand the equipment POH’s (they all can be downloaded), the Duluth focus can be on the Cirrus specific type of issues you refer to. Understanding the basics, as you imply, is necessary to come up with the more advanced questions.
I think Tom and Art’s Duluth experience is atypical. Looking at the contrast between their experience and mine, I’d urge anyone making the trip, who has an instructor that isn’t top-notch, to do a time-out and ask for a replacement. The benefit of a good experience is too great to pass it up.
Reading the manuals and using the simulators is fine, but the manuals and simulators won’t show you how they work together. The best way to get comfortable with the Garmins, Sandel & A.P. is to fly the airplane. Of course, I had a 1400 mile trip home (almost all of it in IMC or VFR on top) with a Cirrus instructor to get that experience, so it’s easy to say that. My experience with the Cirrus instructors I worked with was outstanding. They were both intimately familiar with the airplane and both had an excellent attitude.
Suggestion for your training. Resist the overwhelming urge to get up and spend most of your time flying the plane at the first opportunity in and around Duluth. By all means, fly it the first day, weather permitting. Then, really bear down on the ground work and get that out of the way. The airplane belongs to you and its not going to leave without you. Use your extra day to take the very long way home with a Cirrus instructor. Work with the Garmins, Sandel etc. during longer legs, and don’t focus on doing a large number of coupled approaches during the first days. Getting comfortable with the basics of the cockpit and the ergonomics of everything is a process in itself. Once you do it, you’ll love it, but it is a new airplane for you and it does take getting used to. Remember, getting comfortable with all of this stuff is a process which takes time before it becomes second nature. Given your proximity to Duluth, you may want to also schedule a second extra day with a Cirrus instructor a couple of months from now when you know your way around the cockpit better. That day should be very productive.
Let me echo the value of flying a long leg in the plane early. I read a lot before going to Duluth. But nothing is written about seeing everything come together and how things interacted to achieve flight planning goals. My Cirrus instructor and I really did 3 touch and gos then left for St Paul for a 1-1/2 hour leg. Getting a feel for the sources of situational awareness and what changed as you did various things was invaluable. Then we concentrated on procedures and maneuvers. Kinda like letting my muscle memory catch up to my brain!