Welcome to MOD's 101...

Yes same experience on both fronts. luckily I had a screw kit handy for the building phase and as for the braces being 1/8 off is true and bites. I just screwed the trans down prior to installing the braces, you can enlarge them fairly easy since it's all just alum but to bites that you have to do anything at all..
But the FLM does look great when it completed..