My responses in RED.
1. Some things like ribs and wings aren't cooked to an exact internal temperature. On other posts I see people saying they did wings for 3 hours at 250, ribs for 5 hours at 235, etc. Does that mean 5 hours from when you turn on the smoker or do you not start counting hours until the smoker gets up to temperature? Start counting when you put the cold meat into the cold smoker and turn it on.
2. I bought a small centech pocket scale that DM has/used to have so I can weigh my wood out. Currently my wish list is a container for brining (I'm looking at getting one of each size of the briner and the briner jr as I do intend to do turkeys), an injector (looking at the grill beast injector) Instead of the expensive injectors, I have syringes with large needles from the farm supply store, used for injecting cattle with medicine...but...I have yet to inject though. I just have this thing, where I feel like if you inject, the liquid just runs right back out the hole you created when you injected it. Hold off on this until you feel you need it. Brining is better, meat claws for pulled pork (again looking at the grill beast brand for this) meat claws not necessary in my opinion. Get a good pair of heat proof gloves, and go all cave man on the butt to pull it, an instant read thermometer (probably getting a thermopop), another thermometer (looking at a thermoworks chef alarm or fireboard. Any opinions on which is a better and if the fireboard is worth the extra cash?) I don't think you need an instant-read thermometer for smoking so much. They require you to open the door, which you should not be doing anyway. Grilling yes... an instant-read is helpful, but for smoking, you need a wired thermometer than you can drop through the exhaust hole on the top. With the D models, you have one food probe, but you might want to get something like the Fireboard (multiple probes) or a Maverick, so you can temp more than one piece of meat in the smoker. If you have a WiFi network set up in your house, the go for a WiFi model. You will appreciate the dependability of the connection, and graphing capabilities that come with the apps. I have a Maverick (bluetooth), and several inexpensive wired food thermometers from Target/Walmart type stores which work fine, and a good slicing knife (thinking victorianox granton knife). Can't go wrong with ANY knife from Victorinox. The granton slicer is great, have one myself. For slicing brisket, an electric knife is my choice any day. A flexible boning knife from Vicorinox is also ideal for trimming fat from brisket. Please weigh in on the gear I'm looking at and if there is any other gear I should look into getting?
3. Who do you good folks buy wood from? I've got wood from Smokin-It to start off with. One of the most popular ones I'm seeing is Smokinlicious. Smokinlicious is THE best. But...they only carry local woods to their area. If you are looking for other woods, like various fruit or nut woods, then Fruitawood is highly recommended.
4. If you buy wood that ends up having bark on it, should i take the bark off before use? Smokinlicious will have very little, if any bark. A small amount of bark should be no problem. If there is a lot, it doesn't hurt to take it off, but I wouldn't obsess about it.
5. What parts do you clean and how often? My current plan is to foil the bottom of the smoker the top of the wood box every time. I understand that the idea is that as the interior blackens that's seasoning it and adds flavor to your meat. I do plan to clean the grill grates after each cook. Do you guys clean off the grate holders often or just let them get seasoned up like the rest of the smoker? Do I need to clean the temperature probe in the back of smoker to keep getting proper temp readings or do I not worry about that? I foil the bottom of the smoker, the top of the wood box, and the drip pan underneath. The foil is discarded after each smoke. Then I wipe down the inside of the smoker with paper towels to get the soft grease out, but do not scrub it. If there is flakiness on the walls or the top, I will scrape with a plastic putty knife or old credit card to get the loose stuff off, but don't obsess about it. I pre-soak the racks and rack guides in the sink, then put in the dishwasher and clean every time. (I have a #1, so mine fit in the sink and dishwasher, yours might not.) You don't have to clean the rack guides every time. I wash the drip pan in the dishwasher after every smoke. I take a paper towel and wipe the temp probe at the back, but most of the time, there isn't build-up on it if you are careful not to place meat where it will drip on it.
6. It seems you do not preheat the smoker nor do you let the meat come up to room temperature prior to placement in the smoker. It seems like the idea is cold meat into a cold smoker correct? Or am I trying to play baseball with a golf club here? Yes. Don't preheat, ever. Cold meat into a cold smoker. Cold meat takes on smoke better than warm meat. Many popular experts will tell you that meat only takes smoke until it reaches 140 degrees, so you want to maximize that time.
Again sorry for my long winded posts! If there is any other advice you guys have please feel free to share it! Thanks for your time!