Welcome @shain We’re currently working on an update to provide more information about the modernization effort. (Please see this thread for a bit more detail.)
As mentioned in the thread, there’s a GitHub issue where some folks from the community have been asking questions and working on running off the devel branch. You might find that, and some of the other modernization posts, useful for more context.
Thanks for the questions too. I know I’m not directly answering them right now, which might not be ideal, but it is helpful to hear them. Please stay tuned.