To answer your 1st question, a good b/u program should backup your entire device. That would include any 3rd party apps you've added on, as well as any tweaks you've made to your device. The three that seem to be the most popular are SPB Backup, Resco Backup, and Sprite. They work by creating a executable which is stored to your storage card. If you need to restore your system, simply run the executable. I use SPB and have it set to do a full b/u every Mon @ 7AM. These programs are not free, but all do have a trial period. Whatever they cost is cheap insurance if your device ever needs a hard reset or otherwise takes a dive.
Another option (which is free), but one that does not back up your entire system, is DashWire. It does a wireless b/u of all of your SMS, email, voicemail, pix, videos, and contacts on your device. It's cloud based and PC accessable. Found at
www.dashwire.com
Hope this helps
