Good question. I think his passport is faulty. When I renewed my British passport in Bangkok they made me check each field was correct and sign to that effect before cancelling my old passport.
You are correct that was the government's plan but the dinosaurs at ground level have a reputation of preferring stuff printed off. Somebody recently posted about doing a border bounce with DTV and he had to have two copies of everything.
onwardticket.com $14 it is valid for 48 hours, so buy just before you fly, although I doubt anyone would check if it's valid. Buy the ticket for travel within the initial 60 days
It depends on what type of visa you have. Did you obtain a re-entry permit when you left, or did you return on a new visa? If you returned with a re-entry permit, then your TM30 is still valid as long as you return to the same address.