Some thoughts.

1. Hear you on that. For awhile I was using a pen insert to push with, or sometimes risking a screwdriver when I didn't want to take a pen apart. Finally took 2 thin coffee stirrer sticks and glued them together forming a skinny but thicker, and stiffer, push stick. Works well.
   
2. .
   
3. Yep. I'm the dude that forked it to make some changes with great results (for me at least). When @Gordon gets back well see if he wants to pull it in. Up to him.
   
   

I'm thinking of sacrificing a puck (well, just its mobility really) and making a puck breakout/breadboard just for development/experimentation. USB power, tactile buttons for power cycle, button click, etc. Breakout of all the I/O. Maybe add a small display. Maybe a small buzzer. And importantly, 3v3 TTL serial so I can have a proper connection to the console that doesn't interfere with the BLE. It's just a thought.