Putting in new gasket should it be put in dry, or coat it w/ oil or permatex? Also has anyone put in a stiffer pressure spring in the pump to increase pressure?

put some oil on the rubber seals to prevent them from slicing themselves during the install.

 

just to give you an idea of the integrity of the oil pump, i had serviced a running engine that had the check ball on the oil pump pried out and missing, no inner oil seal, and missing a bolt.

 

pretty simple to do. make sure you can turn the oil pump sprocket freely before torquing down the bolts.

 

you can test your oil pressure and prime the system by mounting a 12mm socket to a drill and spinning the shaft before installing the belts, to make sure everything is good before operating the engine.