1) Awesome project you have going on. I have a albino pin project in the works as well. They are lovely looking animals.
2) I've heard really good things about Outback Reptiles. All the bad rap seems to be from the past. And Outback has made good contributions to Ball Python morph development. They produced the first and only Panda Pied to date.
3) From my experience of past shows here in Norcal, the vendors generally give pretty good deals. I got a female pastel for $100 at the last Sacramento show from Heather Wong. I saved at least $100-$150 total between general normal retail pastel female price(~$150-200) + shipping($50). And my friends who own a reptile shop in Lodi always have good deals on their animals during shows.