TVS vs Zener diode

[Seth Allen]

I am wondering if anyone out there has used a TVS (transient voltage 
supressor) instead of a Zener diode to protect the transistors switching 
the injectors on and off.  To be a bit clearer, on the schematic supplied 
with a National Semiconductor LM1949, they show a 5w 33v zener used to 
protect the darlington circuit  switching the injector current.  I 
am wondering if anyone has used a 5w 33v TVS instead (couldn't get a 
zener!) I am wondering really, if anyone has tried and had it fail to 
operate properly.  The injectors used are bosch/dodge neon, with a static 
resistance of 12.3 ohms.  

Another question in general... how much does a 68332 setup cost? like the 
injector driver boards, the mcu, and ancilliaries?  I might be interested 
in learning assembly and doing programming myself, as I have learned 
enough about the other basics to be dangerous.

Finally, I will get around to posting that active o2 sensor fooling 
circuit. Maybe I could send it to someone and they could assemble it in 
file maker pro, if that is an easy thing to do (never used it just read 
acrobat files and I like the cross platform concept.)

Thanks in advance for the info,

Seth