If there is a pre-carb or coating, don't worry about honey, syrup or anything like that - just load it and go. In fact, I don't bother with honey, syrup or anything like that even if there isn't pre-carb any more (although I have in the past). I also don't bother with alternating my packing between half- and full- packs; I simply fill my new smoker the first opportunity I get and light her up. You know what? All my pipes have nice, hard, even cake from rim to heel. None of my pipes have burned out or cracked. None of my pipes have gone sour, although a couple have had that funky stain taste to burn through.
That said, I am careful to puff particularly slowly during the break-in process. If I feel the exterior of the bowl grows warmer than my hand, I'll set the pipe aside to cool down. I will also ensure that the first few bowls are smoked indoors (read: out of any breeze), as wind can artificially "smoke" the pipe for you, causing hot-spots. And when the pipe is finished, it sits for 24 hours per bowl smoked (sometimes I'll load a second bowl, especially if I'm out and about) before I reach for it again.
As for fire source, matches are nice, but a pain if there is any sort of breeze (not to mention they fill an ashtray quickly). Zippo's work well, but some people find the fluid has an undesirable flavour (and the massive flame if you overfill is a little frightening...). Butane has no flavour, but make sure it's not a torch, otherwise you can kiss the rim of your new BC goodbye if you're not extremely careful. Disposable (Bics) work well too, but be prepared to burn your thumb a couple of times if your not being attentive.
Finally, Pipe-Cleaners are not on your list! Do yourself a favour and make sure you've got a horde of them started; one can never have too many pipe-cleaners!
