USMC M3A1 Stuart

Howdy gang,
after building Axix stuff for most of my Modelling-life, the USMC bug bit me after watching "The Pacific" again and reading "Helmet for my pillow" and "With the old breed".
Well, I started a M4A2 (not quite correct I got to say, since I used the Tasca MK.III, but itīs fun) and decided to start a M3A1 afterwards.
Since I decided to build "The Pay Off" on Bougainville in ī43, and my knowledge regarding USMC-Pacific stuff is quite limited (ordered a couple of books though), I could need some advice.
I will use the Academy kit, with MR conversion for the rounded back plate plus AFV suspension and Bronco tracks as well as the Eduard etched set.
After looking at the two pics I could find of the tank (and "Painintheass"), is there anything I need to be aware of? Iīm aware of the fact that I need to delete several rivest around the sides, back and front.

I see that the tanks are carrying drums for spare fuel, so would those have been carried all the time or were they only in use when the tanks werenīt in combat? It seems to me as if the turret wouldnīt have been able to turn all around with the tanks in place and it might have been not the safest thing to carry around a Drum with fuel during a firefight.
Personally, I would like to leave them off since the Stuart just looks nicer without them in place plus the Academy parts look quite different. From the pics it looks like the tanks were flexible, not metal.

Were the two tanks fueled with Diesel or Gasoline?

Would the firing ports for the .30 cals in the Sponsons have been plated over? MR gives me the option of two choices, plated over or the deleted firing ports.

Are the Decals Academy gives us correct? I remember hearing about the turret numbers being the wrong colour, but Iīm not sure about that.

Thanks a lot in advance!

Cheers
Markus