1. Sounds great to me.
a little water (daily, at least with these temps) until leafs emerge.
(usually 1-2 weeks)
2. I have not given this any thought, but would guess it does not matter.
I know some members have claimed better cold hardiness for their corms by planting up to a foot deep.
(I will see if I can find the thread)
Here ya go
planting basjoo a foot deeper?
3. Yes, I would wait till the plant has a few.
4. I have always heard this, and always ignore it also.
I have had no new transplant die on me either.
I just planted 4 today in full sun.
I had a very small pup I planted out a week or so ago, that I covered with a cat litter box to shade the sun.
I did this because this pup had no roots and only a 4-5'' p-stem.
I'm still new to nanners so lets here from some more folks.