Ok gentlemen, I was looking for a around a 4" lift. Mostly daily driven with some occasional trips to Big Bear or the desert. I am looking to spend around $2k. What's the recommendations?
4" is a lot of lift and, unless you're planning on running 37's, not really needed. to do it right, you'd need to spend more than $2k if you want your jeep to ride and handle well ON PAVEMENT.
Also I could use some education on long arm vs short arm
short arm's is what you have on your jeep now and really, it's a misleading term that originated back from the TJ days as they really had "short" control arms. long arms are literally that, "long" control arms that require the cutting off of factory mounts, a lot of grinding, drilling and or welding to have new mounts installed futher along on the frame rails. when you get to about the 4" lift range and up, your geometry will be off enough that it will effect your ride and handling - "longer arms" will serve to correct suspenion geometry.
What size tire are you looking to run?
that's where i would start.