Well that is a lot of questions I'll help how I can.
1. Find an active player faction join them don't base rape them, they will eventually help you with caps. Or Make a slaver alt and get tons of slaves and sell them to Vortis in NCR, or Metzger in the Den.
2. NPC factions aren't required anymore for much at this point it's better to join a player faction.
3. Don't bother unless you have NO life and can camp them hard core, caps are sucked up within minutes of spawning at every merchant 9 times outta 10. Sometimes you get lucky but we're talking 800ish caps.
4. Everywhere has it's ups and downs, Around The Hub, Junktown and NCR are the lower level places that drop loot, along with near the Den, and Klamath.
5. Whatever you can make or buy cheap and fast, you're gonna go through a TON of guns. The best SG's are usually based on Build, if you're a fast shot a pistol is good but people will say you should use Energy weapons, if you're a burster then 10mm SMG if you can get one, sniper go with a pistol cause Hunting rifles are sorta shit. Shotguns are ONLY good close range and that is more or less a tough fight.
6. No.
7. Get firewood and put it in the fire so you can make ammo from your tent, and use it to store stuff you don't need to carry with you, so When you die you have something to come back to.
8. Banks are in each City only. So NCR will only have your NCR caps and so forth.
9. Depends on the level you want to reach the Glow, search the forums for the most recent thread about the Glow it answers all of what you want, and need to know.
http://fodev.net/forum/index.php/topic,27784.0.html10. No but Tons do, NCR is actually not a very safe place to be, there are Thieves, bomber/bursters, Tent followers, and more. Be sure EVERY time you leave to check your followers in case you have a Klingon.
11. Combat Armor MK II, and it's only looted atm. Or traded from other players.
12. You need more than 100% and even then you will always have a 5% chance of being forced into an encounter, even with 300% Od. I believe however that 150% is reasonable.
13. Same as OD, more so actually, again based on your build, 200% is the going amount for most builds, but if you're not a sniper you could probably live with 180% for the requirement for BROF and even then you will have 5% miss chance.
14. No super phaser, however there are some special encounters that include weapons, items, vehicles. (Not all in one though)