4x4cheesecake

KSP 1.7.1 with both DLCs: 3.59 GB
Making History takes 398 MB
Breaking Ground takes 421 MB
Steam probably needs more space to install the game (for the download cache) so that's probably the reason why steam want's 5.3GB. I don't know if or how many files steam keeps in the cache but you can clear in manually in the steam settings -> downloads. So if you scraped the 5.3GB already, there should be still some space left after installing the game.
 

After a few more tests with slightly different designs, I noticed that the issue seem to be caused by the panels on the ground breaking apart:
Since the panels are connected to the support structure which holds the bearing, the bearing spazzed out and caused the explosion.
I rebuild parts of the wheel in a different order and replaced the root part. Previously, the root part was one of the panels on the grounds, now it is a small probe core inside of the wheel axis and the wheel itself is build in mirror symmetry (btw. symmetry on hinges is a bit wonky ). This allowed me to remove the ground panels at all and now the wheel spins properly without any  explosions  
Well, without the panels, the whole structure became a bit wobbly and I have to fix that now but at least, no more explosions
 

Usually, part clipping is no problem at all. A craft cannot collide with itself so clip as much as you want
Just be careful with parts which will decouple/undocked at some point, for example a booster. If the booster is clipped into the main rocket, it will explode or at least create some unexpected forces on your rocket

Welcome to the forum @GP_LeChuck
This can be done by editing the config file of the science lab or, if you don't mind to install ModuleManager, with a ModuleManager patch.
The config file can be found here:
Kerbal Space Program\GameData\Squad\Parts\Science\LargeCrewedLab\largeCrewedLab.cfg Open the file in a texteditor, and look for:
MODULE { name = ModuleScienceConverter dataProcessingMultiplier = 0.5 // Multiplier to data processing rate and therefore science rate scientistBonus = 0.25 //Bonus per scientist star - need at least one! So 0.25x - 2.5x researchTime = 7 //Larger = slower. Exponential! scienceMultiplier = 5 //How much science does data turn into? scienceCap = 500 //How much science can we store before having to transmit? powerRequirement = 5 //EC/Sec to research ConverterName = #autoLOC_502055 //#autoLOC_502055 = Research StartActionName = #autoLOC_502056 //#autoLOC_502056 = Start Research StopActionName = #autoLOC_502057 //#autoLOC_502057 = Stop Research } The comments (everything after //) already tell you, that "scienceMultiplier" need to be changed to a lower value, like 1 or 2 like you've suggested.
If you prefer a ModuleManager patch, try this one:
@PART[Large_Crewed_Lab]:AFTER[Squad] { @MODULE[ModuleScienceConverter] { @scienceMultiplier = 1 //How much science does data turn into? } } Just copy&paste the patch into a textfile, name it however you like but put the .cfg file extension on it. Then, put the textfile somewhere in the "GameData" directory of your game (you can create a folder there as well, that's no problem )

Ok, this one is easy. Right click on KSP in your game library -> properties -> updates. There is a checkbox to enable/disable the cloud.
As far as I know, the single thread performance is still the limiting factor for KSP and Intel usually get some better results there. On the other hand, your server probably provides 'just' a virtual machine for you and I don't know, if there is a difference at all in this case. It is a common procedure but I'm not familiar with AWS and depending on your subscription, you may actually get a "real" machine.
 
Honestly no idea, maybe someone with a similar ram usage can tell you some details but I have the gut feeling, that 16gb will be better. Stock KSP likes to take 4gb+ so some if there are just 4gb left of the 8gb, the system will make use of the paging file and probably slow down the system a bit.

As far as I know, the city lights textures are meant to look nice from the distance... just from the distance and there is no feature to fade them out while coming closer.
Pretty much the reason why I removed them in my installs

I know this issue already and if I remember correctly, it is caused by an unclean upgrade process. I spend the last 30min to find the other thread where this issue was discussed but I cannot find it

Some details if you are interested:
The easiest way to fix it, would be a clean reinstall of the game. Create a backup of your savegame, uninstall the game, manually remove any remaining files and install it again.

Are the affected chutes from a mod or stock? Did you accidentally use a drogue chute instead of a "regular" one? Any other mod which would affect aerodynamics like FAR?
You can try to delete the "PartDatabase.cfg" from your KSP install directory and the "ModuleManager.ConfigCache" from the GameData folder. Both files will be recreated automatically on the next game launch and may fix the issue.

Welcome to the forum
A crash caused by mono.dll usually indicated one or more outdated mod. I guess, KSP got an update since you or your son played the last time and now, the mod(s) became incompatible. Uninstalling the game through steam doesn't affect mods so they are still there. For a clean reinstall, uninstall KSP through steam and delete the remaining files manually (you may want to create a backup of the savegame first). Then, install the game again and it should launch just fine again

It's a feature of RemoteTech:
The only thing I can find about it, are these two posts but I don't use the mod so if you need a detailed explanation, I would suggest to ask in the mod thread
 

Well, the easiest solution would be to disable the cloud at all, which can be done in the game properties in your steam library (just rightclick the game -> properties).
Since you have some mods installed, I would suggest to move the game out of your steam directory anyway. It's not possible to disable the auto-updates so any KSP update may break your game. As soon as the game is no longer located in your steam install directory, the cloud will also no longer affect it.
In this case, you'll always need to run the KSP_x64.exe directly but you can also add it back to your steam library as a "non-steam game" via the "Games" menu.
If you want to keep the game in steam and use the cloud, I have honestly no clue. You can find some solutions to this on google ("delete steam cloud files") but I've never tried something like this so no idea if it actually works. You can probably also contact the steam support and ask them to delete the KSP savegame from the cloud.

They are probably blacklisted:
The panels are planned for a future release of restock.
Try to add a whitelist file to your GameData folder. Create a textfile, name it however you want but put the extension .restockwhitelist on it, i.e.: "panels.restockwhitelist".
Open the file in a texteditor to add the structural parts:
Squad\Parts\Structural\structuralPanel1x1 Squad\Parts\Structural\structuralPanel2x2 Save the file, restart the game and check again.
If it doesn't help, please upload a log file

The "Physics.cfg" contains some informations about this:
commNetQTimesVelForBlackoutMin = 500 // Minimum dynamic pressure * velocity for comms to start blacking out from plasma (if that option is enabled) commNetQTimesVelForBlackoutMax = 2500 // Maximum dynamic pressure * velocity for comms to start blacking out from plasma (if that option is enabled) commNetTempForBlackout = 1100 // Minimum shock temperature for comms to start blacking out from plasma (if that option is enabled) commNetDensityForBlackout = 5.0000000000000002E-05 // Minimum density for comms to start blacking out from plasma (if that option is enabled) commNetDotForBlackoutMin = -0.86599999999999999 // Minimum dot between velocity and link direction for comms to start blacking out from plasma (if that option is enabled) commNetDotForBlackoutMax = -0.5 // Dot between velocity and link direction for full blackout multiplier commNetBlackoutThreshold = 0.5 // Threshold blackout value below which comms are entirely blacked out (if that option is enabled). Value calculated as 1 - inverse lerp of QTimesVel * inverse lerp of dot So, it depends on the dynamic pressure and temperature, honestly no clue what the "dot" is meant to be.

I found a really nice post about this topic:
https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/21981/how-does-the-space-shuttle-slow-down-during-re-entry-descent-and-landing/23889
Down at the "S-turn" headline, you will find 2 pictures to describe the bank roll (I have honestly no clue why it is called a bank roll...I would call it just a "roll" but I'm not a native english speaker^^) and the crossrange

This really works? I'm kinda surprised though since you use the " | " (logical OR) instead of a " , " (logical AND) for the list of parts, so from my understanding of MM patches, this should just move a single part from the list and not all of them...but I might be wrong there
Anyway, to your question: I assume you run KSP 1.6.x? AFAIK there is a little issue when moving parts to different tech nodes while using a savegame, which got created with the parts in their original location in the techtree. There is actually no reason for the parts to remain in the previous nodes and this bug creates a strange behaviourt on savegames ported from 1.4 to 1.6 since some stock parts got moved to different nodes.
TL;DR: Start a new game everytime you've moved a part somewhere else and it should be displayed properly. Unfortunately, I'm not aware of a different solution.

Welcome to the forum
Try to increase the conic patch limit:

Oh, you are right, there are actually some backports for KSP 1.3.1 and 1.20.16 seem to be the latest release for KSP 1.3.1. Sorry, I totally missed that.
Anyway, Firespitter will definitly need an update: https://github.com/snjo/Firespitter/releases/tag/v7.6.0
Probably the NearFeature parts as well, hard to say if the version number for these mods are listed properly in the log.
In generall, I would always recommend to use spacedock or CKAN instead of curseforge. Spacedock is maintained way better and via the 'changelog' tab, you can easily find the proper mod versions. CKAN also provides a version tab but it's usually not necessary to check the version manually there but most mods contain a link to the forum page or github repository which can be quiet handy

No clue what's going on there with the reaction wheels running while set to 'SAS Only' but I guess there is a pretty easy to solution to your primary issue:
You can bind different keys for 'Steer Left/Right' and 'Drive Forward/Backwards'. The keybindings are located in the game settings -> Input -> Vessel. By default, pitch up/down and drive forward/backwards are controlled by the same keys, so rebinding them should solve your issue
 

The steam cloud is available since KSP 1.4.4 and should be active by default. You have to launch the game through steam for it to work and as soon as you close the game again, the savegame will be uploaded to the cloud and if you launch the game the next time on a different machine, steam will download the latest savegame. As far as I know, it works pretty well  
You can check the cloud settings by right-clicking the game in your steam library -> properties -> tab 'UPDATES' -> steam cloud syncronisation.

What you are looking for is Ship Save Splicer:
This little mod can export a vessel and creeate a .craft file from it

That's the vacuum TWR and not ASL TWR
Check your settings for the dV readout:
Vacuum:

ASL:

 

EVE doesn't do anything without a config, in case of RSS, I would suggest to try:
 

I know the issue and reported it several times (I also think it is related to Toolbar Controller but it also happens to mods which doesn't use it, so maybe I'm wrong) but since it is just a minor bug which doesn't affect the gameplay or functionallity of the mods, neither I care a lot about, nor anyone else (at least there are not many reports about it)^^
Well, if you hit one of these buttons in the main menu, you will probably get a NullRef error but it's not a big deal, the game usually will not crash or anything bad will happen. Anyway, I would suggest not to press these buttons in the main menu^^

You need a direct link (the one with a .png extension) to embed the image. IMO the easiest way to get one is by right clicking on the image -> copy link location and paste the link here
Two possible solutions:
1) Did you actually turn on the radiators?
2) If the radiators are running, they are probably too far away from the drills. Not quiet sure what's the max. allowed distance but you may want to try to move the radiators to the same part, which the drills are attached to or use some of the extenable panels since they can cool any part of the vessel regardless of the distance.

I guess you're looking for a tool like FlybyFinder or KSPTOT. Multiple flybys are complicated and so are these tools, you should definitly read a bit through the threads. 
I've done a few runs of FlybyFinder and the earliest transfer window I've found begins in Y4 D90:
dV required for this transfer is ~1400m/s but you will definitly need a bit more to do some corrections on your way since it is pretty much impossible to perfectly hit the right angle/burn time to set up multiple flybys in a single burn.
But you should also look at the 'Breaking dv' of ~3100m/s. This is the dV which would be required to break into an orbit around Jool. Well, usually another gravity assist of Tylo and/or Laythe will capture you around Jool as well, but 3100m/s is pretty high anyway.
If you don't already got a mod to edit maneuver nodes, I would highly recommend to get one, for example precise maneuver or precise node. These mods allow you to do some fine adjustments to your maneuver nodes and even more important: to edit the dV values for each direction.