Wotcha and welcome - couldn't help you with that one unfortunately hopefully one of our legacy / outback members will be along to point you in the right direction
a bit of washing up liquid in some water and a spray gun will be a basic tool for checking just look for bubbles - check all your clamps are done up tight and if the pipes are all original it might be worth considering replacing them with aftermarket items
know what you mean - it is better than buying blind, there have been a couple of mint examples going through the for sale section, not the years you are after though...
a grand to take the engine out is a bit steep as it is quite straight forward and can be done quite quickly by experienced staff.
do they mean they will be taking it out and stripping the unit down as part of the work or is that just lifting it out of the bay?
Wotcha and welcome - we have quite a few fozzie owners on the forum so feel free to get stuck in, post photos and tell us about any modifications you may have planned :)
had a clarke trolley jack for years now not let me down, good value for money £100 quid well spent - I dare say you could get second hand ones as well to save a bit
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/ctj3000g-3-tonne-professional-garage-j