You can quickly get to a Black & White image after the Auto Level Step by changing the master saturation to -100% in a Hue/Sat layer; however, I have had better success by using a gradient map. Conversion of color images to B&W is a whole topic in itself, you should be able to use the same techniques you already use to convert regular color images to B&W. Anything but convert to Gray scale...!
Dave you are having waaaaaaaaaay too much fun here. I have enjoyed all your efforts you have shared here and hope to benefit from it. Thanks for your time and effort. Keep on keeping on.
