#3 Can I do an initial setup with the panel where I have 2
thermostats both controlling the whole house (aka 1
zone)? Then later add dampers and reprogram.
I do not see a problem here. I believe, you may connect
two thermostats in parallel - just remember that the
panel will work from thermostat which "kicks in" first.
The panel itself has terminals which can accommodate
two wires per signal - you shouldn't have problem there.
And the panel is very easy to be programmed and re-
programmed for any number of zones at any time, so
you can add zones later.