Hey Jim,
Very good inquiries ! And, it's very smart to start doing the research , as you are doing..now, before (mistakes) spending all the dollars required to achieve what you want.
Lots of good info given so far, and I recommend that you get Jim Brierley's recently published book , which addresses a few of your questions. Just enjoy the 'war stories' and save the 'nuggets' for your build. I think that he sandbagged and is holding out for the second/third edition ..which I will also buy
. They (Pete/Jim and other fast boys) say...how fast you want to go depends on how much $ you have to spend
