I may have to make a print that is 24" wide by 86" tall. to fit a specific frame. the scene is going to be what is behind the frame it'll make a sort of door or window look while actually being blocked. the print is going to have to be able to hold up to viewing from a distance of about 2 feet or so or maybe even closer? I want it as good as possible. I was wondering whether I should take multiple frames vertically and stitch them together or take one shot cropped for width then upsampled for the height? (since it's out of proportion) if the answer to this question is to take the separate pics then stitch then is it better to take all the frames from the same eye point or change the height of the camera for each frame ?

I don't think changing the height of the camera for each shot will be practical unless the simulated view is of something very very close. Use a normal standing viewpoint, as if you were standing in the room. The harder decission will be deciding what angle of view to cover.

I think I'd try changing the angle of view from the same heigh first, since it's the simplest thing to do. If it doesn't work that way, does your tripod have a head height adjustment? Mark a dot on the floor, attach a plum bob to the bottom of your tripod and simply raise the height of your camera and take multiple shots. Then you can stitch like a pano. I'd go for close to 50mm focal length...

What DPI are you aming for 200?

good idea on the plumb bob.. The guys at work would get a kick out of just the fact that I even have one. they all use lasers now.

On the DPI I'll probalby print one section to simulate the size and pick a few diferent resolutions to see what I can get away with

For a print that big, you don't need 300 DPI, but just 150 -the machines we use for posters or any oversize print won't take a file that big @300 DPI

Regards