First, many of the stories you're referencing are based on earlier versions of the rules, which is why you can't find a way to reproduce the actions - the rules have changed. Every time Steve makes a major change to Aurora he starts a new campaign - or maybe it's the other way around.
1. Components pre-built this way are manufactured by Industry. Thus, the advantage lies in reducing the amount of shipyard time required.
2. Not currently, but it was before and it will be again.
3. Not really, though the "Extended Orbit: X km" movement order can help you pretend.
4. No.
5. Yes, if you know exactly where your target is going to be at a specific future time (for example, a planet or a ship in orbit of a planet). It involves doing a lot of math (without the help of Aurora) and carefully planning your fire. It also requires either a highly (TF) trained fleet or 'Use Inexperienced Fleet Penalties' to be turned off, to get you ships to fire the correct missiles at the correct targets at the correct time.
Yes, coordinating a fleet-wide salvo is the purpose of the synchronous fire option.
6. Re-target as desired? No. Re-target semi-randomly, as chosen by Aurora's target-decision subroutine for 'lost' missiles? Yes. Simply put a sensor (active or passive) on your missiles and when the original target is lost, they will look around for a new one - chosen randomly, or by size, or by range, or by strength of signal, or something. I don't know how Aurora chooses.
7. I think it's more of a Commercial thing, and done via the Civilian window. I don't know - look there, and on the Diplomacy screen, and the System Map, and the System Information screen.
8. Similar, but more likely the earlier game-breaking exploit of re-targeting massive missile swarms in flight.
9. Absolutely. Automatically.
Unless you're confusing active sensors with fire control, in which case no, absolutely not. It doesn't matter which of your units has the target on active sensors, as long as somebody on your side does. Every ship needs it's own fire control, however, or it can't fire squat.
10. Same as 9. Someone has to see the target in order for anybody to shoot at it. (And I will point out that Beam Fire Control has no resolution.) If you're talking about Missile Fire Control, it's a specialized form of Active Sensor, and therefore follows all the same rules.