mnequinox

I'm new to the forum. We have owned our equinox for roughly a year and a half. It's a 2005 Equinox LS AWD. It now has 201,xxxmiles on it. It's been very good to us.
I have a few questions:

1.) The hanger bearing/support bearing is bad on the drive shaft. Has anyone replaced the whole drive shaft with a used one or replace just the hanger bearing? If so, how hard is either job? I don't have access to a lift or air tools. Just hand tools, ramps, and a Jack.

2.) I know irradium plugs are recommended, but can I use a lower grade plug like platinum or double platinum with a more frequent change? Either way, I'll probably use either ngk or autolites.

3.) After running for about 20 minutes, when shifting into either drive or reverse, there is about a 3 second delay then it will slam or shift hard into gear. Any ideas what could cause this? Low trans. fluid? Would a trans fluid drain and fill be a good idea with 201,xxx miles on it.

4.) I'm finding that the factory P235/65R16 tire size is not very easy to come by. Is there another tire size that might be easier to come by? I'm looking for used tires for right now. Probably getting new tires when we get our taxes back and maybe a different set of rims too hopefully. The stock 16in wheels are ugly in my opinion.

5.) Will the 07-09 front bumpers fit our 2005?

6.) Is there a difference between factory strut assemblies on the Equinox and Torrent? I thought I read that the Torrent has a tighter/sportier feeling suspension. Just looking for someone to confirm this. Our Equinox needs the front strut assemblies replaced very soon. So I was thinking of getting strut assemblies from a Pontiac Torrent. I know they are almost the same vehicle with a few differences.

7.) Will the rear bumper and tail lights fit our Equinox? I have found some answers saying yes and some saying no.

I'll limit my questions to these for now. I do have more but those will come later.

Thanks for reading.
Thanks for any help, advise, or info