Bigbox99

These are just aliexpress handles.

Yeah, definitely looks like a MH in a non bass line. I have a MH musky rod that is rated for multiple ounces on the top end. That loomis naming convention is also consistent with their other musky rods. I don't know if it is an earlier or later model than the ones in the link. These say "muskie: on them.

https://www.tackletour.com/reviewicast2008gloomis.html

Bass rods are short and stiff compared to surf and other long limber rods and benefit from a snappy, lots of jerk wrist snap type movement at the release point of the cast when casting for maximum distance.  To get this range of movement you need be able to rotate the wrist on the cast by moving the rod 90° on the cast.  This is hard to do if you are palming the reel while casting.  

To some reading this may be obvious but a surprising amount of newer anglers are doing this.  They are using left hand reels to avoid changing hands between casting and retrieval but are also casting the reel while palming with two fingers in front of the trigger and resting their thumb pad on top of the spool or on the side of the reel and then coming down on the spool with the whole thumb. 
 
While this is great for close in work ( well get to that later) it's a hindrance for distance casting.  It's better to move your hand down the rod and grip the rod grip and place your trigger finger on the rod's trigger when casting.  This will free up wrist movement and allow you to rest your thumb on the thumb bar and rock your thumb forwards and back of the thumb bar to use your thumb tip to regulate spool speed.  Notice how these rod are reel components of trigger, grip and thumb bar are named?  They were designed for this use.
 
Palming while casting isn't inherently bad and is great for flipping and short target casting and objectively better than switching between a casting and 3 finger in front of the trigger casting style for the ability to rappidly enguage the reel and set the hook.  I do this with my lefties and I believe everyone who punches should learn to punch with a lefty reel palming while they punch and should palm with 2 fingers in front of the trigger so they can use the thumb base to operate the thumb bar while holding the spool with their thumb pad to control the spool as line is stripped out with the left hand.  The reel can be engaged to make the punch/flip by either moving the handle with the drag star by the right palming hand or lift up on the thumb bar with the thumb tip.  Even if you don't punch much of this still applies to pitching.  

It's the older Doyo  gen 3 Lubina platform. Its probably being phased out and why the Lews LFS switched to a different Doyo platform.  Once the stock runs out you'll see a new Pro Qualifyer come out, probably on the same platform as the JM Carbonlite.  The popular 2010s Pro Q was also a Lubina.  It's not actually the 1st gen Pro Q as that name goes back to the 90s and has been many Korean OEM reels.  It once was a round reel.  Were they all Doyo Lubinas or even Doyos?  Don't know but that would be kinda cool in a way.

No.  Just the combined slop in the pinion yoke/spool pin and anti reverse bearing.  It's normal.  Daiwa's have a little less anti reverse slop than Shimanos but they still have the same spool pin to pinion yoke slop.
 
Any rattling/clicking from the spool pin chattering in the pinon yoke when reeling aggressively on the water will be practically indiscernible from the ambient noises present when fishing.  This is a product of normal reel operation, good hearing (I too am cursed with this) and messing with the reel indoors without a bait on the line to press the spool pin into the pinion yoke.  I can only really pick up the chattering on the water when burning in a low resistance bait like a weightless plastic for another skip.  It's just a soft chatter from the reel as I rappidly crank the handle 

You want the Ray's Studio 28mm spool with the SV brake.  I've heard great things about that combo to the point that if I want a modern finesse reel I would get a gekka and that spool.  The SDS customs 28mm spool is the same thing.  SDS Customs just sells Ray's Studio products at markup on Ebay.  Normally I'd say avoid them and get it from the source but ordering from Aliexpress is a mess right now so Ebay is handy.

At 8:47 in this video he goes over the hydrophobic coating used in Shimano baitcast reels.

There is a swimbait Valkyrie World Expedition travel rod.  That's the only one that comes to mind.  You can pay US retail at the hook up takcle or order from Japan with no warranty for a fraction of the price.

Looks like a standard Tatula handle.  Have you considered something like this?  It's a cheap 95mm handle with power knobs similar to the Zillion HD and Tatula Flip and Pitch.  Here is mine on a Taula 80 compared to a Zillion HD.


https://a.aliexpress.com/_msvywha

Follow your A B Cs
 
https://jdmfishing.com/product-category/reels/shimano/baitcasting-shimano-reels/curado/

Just buy a quality reel and a quality rod individually.  Combos are almost always a rip off. 

At one point the tackle trap sold them for $45.

Its a 34mm spool reel.  Should be SLX 150/Lews LFS/18 Tatula 100 sized.  It should be similar to 32mm spool reels like the Curado 150MGL and 24 Tatula 100 but a smidge taller.  This is my preferred size for all around use.