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Although I've never used the technique he describes, my first inclination is the same as you mentioned at the end of your post: how would the CO2 escape? If the seal on a bottle cap holds the carbonation achieved through priming sugar, why wouldn't it hold the carbonation achieved through forced...

Absolutely! It is generally suggested that you prime with half the sugar you would have used for bottle carbonation. So if you had planned for 4 oz. sugar in your 5gal batch, try 2 oz. instead.

A keg is just another vessel -- you can absolutely allow your beer to continue bulk aging inside of one. When I do that, I do connect CO2 and purge the headspace a time or two. I generally do this before carbonating the beer itself, but I don't know how much difference this makes.

A one-month primary shouldn't alter the flavor of your finished product, but I would rack it off the yeast as soon as you were home. As far as temperature, could you just leave it in the same spot for all 4.5 weeks? If leaving town entails turning off the AC or some such, I would expect 2.5...

Just to echo the first recommendation, Grant Hagberg Co. fills my 20# tank for about $9. Have to drop it off and pick up later, though; they don't fill tanks every day. They also like homebrew a great deal. :)

Although certain styles might want deviation from this, standard ale pitching rate (750,000 cells x ___ mL x ___ degrees Plato of your wort) suggests that 5gal (19,000-20,000 mL) at 1.050 (~12 degrees P) wants a bit less than 200 billion yeast cells. Wyeast smack packs have 100 billion cells...

I wondered if the Propagator was still around... My first time using liquid yeast, that was all I pitched into 5gal. Memories of that beer intentionally hazy.

Your concerns are wise, under-pitching will help give you the effect you're looking for, but it's tough to over-pitch as a homebrewer. You COULD just pitch the smack-pack, there's a fair bit of yeast in it, but one of your first steps to better homebrew is making starters. Also, "3068" refers...

Mmm, I have 3068 spinning on a plate right now! So tasty! Anyways, my answers are pulled from my dusty memories of the Yeast book by Zainasheff/White. First, use the calc at http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html to figure out exact pitching rate / starter size. I don't usually use the calc...

Randy Mosher suggests in Radical Brewing that quality of vodka is irrelevant for making extracts, that the extra dollars will only make you feel better about your choice. I've only done it once with Smirnoff, and it was OK, so I'm not much of a source myself. I think I'd use more than one bean...

Do you have a 3-piece airlock with the bell? If you remove the cap and bell, a piece of sanitized 1/2" tubing will fit nicely on the stem of the airlock. Run that tube into a jar full of sanitizer, and your problem is solved.

I'm in the same area, and the "one guy I know who welds" doesn't seem too interested in my business. When I can afford the equipment to get started, I think I'm just going to learn to do it myself.