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It sounds to me like the client is being very unrealistic in asking artists for a price when you don't even know the size of the finished piece or where it will go. Have they decided on important issues like number of figures and other compositional questions?
I painted a wall mural many years ago, for a school district, and I was paid on an hourly basis. It was painted directly on the wall and was probably ten feet high by thirty feet long. The project took me a couple of months and consisted of thirty to fifty simplified portraits. I knew the exact location and size from the start and submitted a small mock up of the composition before beginning. Because it was so long ago I don't remember much else about it -- other than that, in retrospect, my mural was pretty awful!
I understand that a client may not want to go with an hourly agreement since that is so open ended, but asking you for a price now seems like they are going way too far to the other extreme.
Quoting a price now, while having so many unknowns about the project, could open you up to a year or more of frustration, lost portrait income and considerable additional expenses that must be borne by you. If I were in your situation I would not quote any kind of price until I knew a lot more about the project, even if it meant risking losing the job.
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