darkmanifest

Got the same PC as you, using a Steam installation, and I recently won the battle with the toolset, but I've already half-forgotten the work I did to pull it off (my mind blocking the torment to protect me, no doubt). What I do remember is that, like nezroy said, the SQL 2005 packaged with the Toolset utterly refused to work, and that I needed to install the 2005 Express version from Microsoft's site, along with SQL Server Management Studio Express, to even get started in the right direction. Then I used the Manual Database Installation page combined with sheer guesswork to handle the rest. No idea what's different about the 2008 version. As for some of the things I still recall tripping me up, you absolutely cannot forget that when you install the server manually, you can't use the default database and server links in ConfigureToolset, all that has to be changed around to match the adjustments you make in SQL Studio. For example, my ConfigureToolset has this under Content Database: "Provider=SQLOLEDB.1;Integrated Security=SSPI;Persist Security Info=False;Initial Catalog=bw_dragonage_content;Data Source=.\SQLEXPRESS" instead of the default string, and ".\SQLEXPRESS" for a server name instead of ":\BWDATOOLSET". Basically, change every instance of BWDATOOLSET you find. That little detail messed me up right until the very end. Oh, and you have to make sure every relevant folder has permissions granted, even the empty ones, and that they're in the right places on your installation drive. For example, at the "Backup media" part of the Management Studio tweaking, things might end up pointing to a folder that doesn't exist in the default filepath it attempts to follow, so you have to create it yourself. In my case, I had to put it into Program Files; it kept trying to go into my C drive for no reason I understood. Sorry, that's all I remember, and I'm not sure it even makes sense. May the Maker be with you.

Don't forget Dragon Age Mutator (which has some options Fixpack doesn't), Dialogue Tweaks, and DLC in Awakening and Awakening Fixes.

Actualy, there is a mod that lets you run faster without any abilities: Faster Combat, which has an optional file to increase runspeed by 20%, in and out of combat.

Hm, sounds like a part of Improved Atmosphere to me. It's a massive mod, but it's also highly adjustable, so you can install only the part that changes the party banter. It comes with a detailed PDF so you can find which folder does what.

I use Dragon Age Ultimate Edition on Steam. Mods don't do anything to your game installation folder (which is Program Files (x86)/steam/steamapps/common/dragon age ultimate edition/packages/core), they're supposed to route to your My Documents folder, and almost all of them do so automatically. If your mods aren't doing that by default, that means the Bioware folder was created somewhere the mods can't find it, and I can't tell you where that might be without knowing how your drive is set up, what version of Windows you're using, or if you're using an Administrator account. Find your Bioware folder (that's where your saves go), and you'll find the filepath the mods need to use. Though why they can't find them automatically is a mystery to me; that should happen no matter how your drive is set up, unless you simply don't have a My Documents folder at all.

The only mods you listed that mess with character appearances are Dragon Age Redesigned and Improved Atmosphere, so your problem is between those two. And like Thandal said, hair only goes missing when you don't have the necessary hair mods installed. Now, Redesigned requires Tucked Hair if you're using the Recommended version, and other hair mods if you use any special morphs (Zevran has a special morph that requires another hair mod), yet I notice you don't list any hair mods. Install Tucked Hair and check to see which Zevran morph you're using.

CC Extra Tints and Tones, located here: http://dragonage.nexusmods.com/mods/69/?