You have it in a nutshell, just be sure the stock firmware loads from odin and functions as it should, miracast, power buttons, wifi, sounds and all work propper... once satisified, you can flash your recovery, be sure to flash the recommended recovery by the ROM you select.
As for links? I assume kernel??? Check in the Development section... it is one of the top 5 topics. Boeffla Kernel for CM13. You can try it though read up as it is fairly new. Compare the differences in other CM13 kernels before jumping in. Some kernels provide options that you may find more important.
Battery can be accesed by removing the spen from the case, and removing SIM if available and SDRAM card if available from the side of the device. You can pop open the back over by care fully using a plastic knife and wedging it between the backcover and the silver frame at the opposite side of the buttons. Be sure to have the device off and buttons clear from being pressed accidentally.
Once you press enough you will notice the cover seperating under the plastic knife. Try to wedge a credit card and run down along the seam. This will sound like a zipper as each tab will give a light pop. Be careful to do the the full length of the buttonless side first and work from corner to corner once the side has been disengaged. When you have only the button side to free, place the tablet face down and rock the cover up and down while pulling away.
When the cover is removed, there will be a connector coming from the battery. It will have two red, two blue and two black wires. To remove I use a very small hobby knife and with the blade facing away from the connector ... I slide it under the wires against the connector. Being careful to lift lightly til the side that lifts snaps, and then life the oposite side while lowering the handle of the hobby knife a wee bit.
Do not lift the wires straight up... as the wires are brittle at the battery. You will not see the battery connections for the wires because of the mylar covering to protect the battery.
To reconnect just line up the connector carefully and press down. It should snap in place.
As for flashing the kernel... simply flashing a kernel will not correct a settings issue. The device has android settings, and internal settings. Kernel is set by design, so flashing the kernel soon after flashing a new ROM will keep unknown android settings from effecting how a new kernel functions. Plus when a new Android ROM loads, the kernel has routines that may allow the ROM to load system info differently than previous kernel, so swapping kernels back and forth may not be as good as starting off fresh with your kernel and android load.
