There’s no reason you can’t switch a pump during a SLAM if you’d like. I thought the skimmer you had was okay with the current pump but you wanted to know if a bigger pump would work. I did read this thread (skimmed) right after waking up though.
At some point I do recommend the through wall skimmer upgrade. I have no issues running 100% flow through my Hayward skimmer with the 2800 GPM Intex pump/filter combo.