1/ Whichever method is best for you. I Started with the alarm clock, then learned to auto-suggest. But you may choose to only remember your last morning dream when you wake up normally. Morning dreams take almost all the 90minutes cycle, so you should be in the middle of a dream whatever is you usual wake-up clock. You just need to stay reasonably still and REALLY try to remember it. I was like you before (0 dream recall) but now I recall many.

3/ Yes and no. If you WILD directly in the evening, the dream will indeed start after 80 minutes. At the end of the night, you would have to wait much less. I can WILD in only 1 or 2 minutes on the morning, when it's essentially "only REM".