1.) You can set up 301 redirects
3.) Redirects will tell the search engine where the new pages are located and it will be reindexed accordingly, giving new pages the
PR, etc.
4.) I would put the forum on
http://laserpointerforums.com instead of messing with the directories, especially if you are redirecting users anyways. Why make them go to laserpointerforums.com/forums/forums when your domain tells them you are running a forum
