Repost:Stepper cnc retrofit ?

I posted this by mistake to a thread yesterday and it was
kinda buried.

I thought I'd ask here as this seems to be the place for
inexpensive cnc discussion. I am getting ready to
retrofit a like new
(mechanically) 1967 Pratt & Whitney Tape-O-Matic 2 axis
mill/ drilling machine, 3 hp spindle, with new motion
control on the X &Y
axis. I have 400 in. oz. 5 wire unipolar steppers on the
table now which are OK, the controller is garbage.
Based on the info I have that I can buy (2) 720 in. oz.
motors ($250 ea.), (3) drives (gecko), and CNC Pro
software ($550 for
software and drives) for $1050 and estimate $300 for
power supply.

My questions are:
1. Can/should I keep the motors? Possibly modifying the
connections
2. Is steppers the best way to go for lowest cost when
performance isn't critical?
3. Any suggestions for lowering cost?
4. Any experience with any of this equipment/software?
5. Recommendations for other equipment/software? This has to
be relatively low labor if it can be, although I can
manufacture brackets, hookup and setup stuff with no
problem, I just can't spend weeks getting this to work.
6. How good does the power supply have to be?
7. I found some 700 in. oz. motors that appear similar to
the above motors for $220, are there any things to look for
in motor matching to drives?
8. Any one gotten the Z axis to be stepper controlled?
Thanks in advance
Bob