1. Pellets go straight into the kettle. I don't use leaf hops much, but when I do, I bag them in leg stockings.
2. Whirlfloc at 10 minutes.... When I add yeast nutrient
3. Always decant. Why would I want to make the beer that I worked hard to craft be cut with 10% crummy starter beer?
4. I don't whirlpool but I will hopstand with 0 minute hop additions. I filter through a let stocking that is ziptied to the hose into a bucket. This catches 95% of a debris. Then I dump from bucket into a carboy. This is how I oxygenate the wort.
5. I leave my beers in the primary until they are done fermenting.... However long that takes.
6. I use Wyeast yeast nutrient in my starters and brews.... It's cheap.
7. I use White Labs. It's what is available around me. They also have more strains. I've used WYeast, but I have to get it through the mail, and I just don't like doing that. I have no complaint with it. With White Labs, you can send in 10 labels and get a coupon for a free vial.
8. I only buy bulk grain unless it's a specialty that I usually don't use. I have industrial sized 5 gallon ziplock bags that will hold 30 lbs of grain. I store my base malts in these. I also have industrial 3 gallon ziplocks that I store my specialties in. I store these bags in large plastic storage bins in the basement. I buy about 200 lb of grain when I find sales probably semi-annually... I've had no problems with grain stored this way over a year.