s70rguy

I completely agree with the other poster that brifters are not ideal, and certainly expensive. So I would advice to go with indexed downtube shifters. They are very easy to work with.
I assume the rear spacing is 126 mm and that you use screw-on freewheels at the moment. In that case you could try to get some used 7-speed Shimano dt gear levers (the Dura Ace are nice) and that will work with any 7 speed freewheel. And will work flawlessly once adjusted correctly. If you need more gears, get some 9 speed Dura Ace gear levers and upgrade to Shimano compatible cassette system hubs. The gear levers you will probably have to get new, the wheels are easy to get secondhand. if you go to 9 speed, spread the rear triangle to 130 mm. Not difficult.