I bulk load and have no problems with scratches. I will agree, however, that it is very easy to scratch your film unless you are careful.(posted 8412 days ago)My practice is to avoid getting any grit on the film cassette by putting the reloaded film in a snap-top film cannister immediately after loading. I keep an empty cannister in my camera bag, and when I finish shooting a roll, it goes directly into a cannister. Also, I use the plastic screw-top cassettes (B&H-$0.45/), and I have never had a light leak.
I should point out to you, I am meticulous about keeping everything clean. If you do the same, I don't think you'll have any trouble with scratches.
As for developers, you should check out Edwal FG7. It's an excellent developer, but seems to have fallen from favor of late, and I don't know why. It yields nice tight grain, very good tonality and excellent sharpness. Another liquid concentrate that is worth a look is Ilford Ilfosol S. Both these developers employ phenidone and thus provide a real speed increase of +/- 1/2 stop. Another developer that might suit you well is FX-2 or TFX-2. You can buy them from Photographer's Formulary in liquid form. TFX-2 is PH's proprietary modification of the original FX-2 formula. I've used both and don't find any significant difference. FX-2 is very simple to make, so you could save considerable money by buying the chemicals from PH and making your own stock solutions.
Finally, if you decide to forego bulk loading, you can get a great deal on Fuji SS100 film from B&H; they sell it for $1.99 a roll. It's an excellent conventional type film, similar in properties to FP4+. The also often have Fuji Neopan 400 for $2.49 a roll; it's considerably better than TX and about equal to HP5+, and it pushes very nicely to 800.