1. Anything with Cunning and Endurance bonuses. For secondary stats, pumping surge and crit is useful, power is an alternative. I wouldn't worry too much about defence.
2. There is no real right or wrong, the most important thing is that they compliment eachother, speak to every trainer on the fleet without actually taking the skill, then read the Codex entries to see what catches your eye.
3. This is my first mmo, so I have even less experience than you and picked it up quickly, you'll be fine.
Good luck.