Mike,
North makes a good sail at a competitive price. In my case, the local North loft is an hour away so I've been getting my sails locally from Farrar. However, his loft has seen some changes lately, so who knows what the future will bring.
I like a loose foot. On my former boat, I went loose foot just by leaving the slugs out of the track in the boom and did the same with the original main on my present boat. For my present main, I specified loose foot. Just two caveats. First, you have to tighten the outhaul before you try to furl the sail. Second, you need a good slider at the clew or you'll have trouble adjusting the foot. My present main uses a velcro strap around the boom. Even that needs a bit of spray silicone now and then to keep it moving.
My upper two battens are full length. This gives a bit more area in the top of the sail, but they do tend to hang up on the backstay in light air.
I use lazy jacks, and only rig them when lowering the sail. Otherwise they're tucked along the boom and mast. No experience with a stack pack. Some folks like them, some don't.