Hi Drew,
Yep, PVC isn't ideal. I don't know how bad it is, but that is always somewhere in the back of my mind. I've seen a lot of intense brewing equipment and always had a little bit of awe for people doing that stuff. The first several years I brewed I was using a 5 gallon bucket with a gazillion 1/8" holes drilled in the bottom and hitting efficiencies over 90%. I guy I brewed with in college had this crazy cooler thing with a spiral of copper that was notched draining the whole thing horizontally- I think he spent over $100 building this thing and he was lucky to hit 50%. I'm like SmallHagrid and opt for that KISS mentality!
I haven't tried those dry yeasts. There was only a couple available when I started brewing, though I hear some of the new stuff is really clean. I'm loyal to Wy'east labs. I used to live on Mt. Hood, and call it nostalgia or ego or stubbornness, I think they're some great people making a great product. If I brew often enough I will pitch a second or even third batch onto the yeast cake from the previous batch. At my ripe age though, I really only brew about 3-4 times a year any more. I'm still working on a batch that I brewed last May. The bees knees for me is to relax with a draft at the end of the day on the weekend but I don't consume any real quantities. Very often, that is.