By the numbers
1. Try using cheap oven therms set around and you can find hot and cold spots, understand that it will change as you load up with meat.
2. The formation of smokering stops at aprox 140* but as long as you put smoke on meat it will lay on and effect the flavor. I personel don't oven finish much meat and I normally don't foil as soon as a lot of other cooks do.
6. The reason for heating wood before adding to fire helps you from getting large heat spikes, I would rather have the pit temp drop some than take a big jump.
7. Yes and no, you can dry out meat by cooking at low temps for very long time. Brisket as an example you are better taking it to 190* internal, foil and place in dry cooler. The advantage is there is no longer any heat being supplied only the equalization of the heat load in the meat. This helps keeping the meat from drying out during the hold period.
Soaking wood is not a good plan and does not achieve what you want, it only prolongs the flash point of the chips a short time. Use chips in foil packages or invest in an iron box that you can put the chips in. I almost never use chips, I find chunks much better choice.
Fat cap answer changes based on the meat, brisket leave it all on to protect the meat from the heat and it's drying effects. This means you will not cook fat side up.
Butts I remove the fat cap because I get better bark and there is enough internal fat to keep butts moist.
If you sart a fire on the floor of the firebox you will have more of an airflow problem than you have now. You may want to put a second piece of expanded metal in the bottom which can help keep the hot coals from falling through as soon.
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