A note on that last issue (I don't know where it was discussed before, let me know if you want me to move it):
I'd suggest allowing craft reserve to accumulate between levels, or at the very least, betwen the current and the previous level.
I've played an artificer in a Pen & Paper campaign and my opinion is that you'll likely run out of money before craft reserve, even if you take the Extraordinary artisan feat which reduces costs by 25%. And online campaigns tend to generate less than average value for the PCs.
Should an artificer save up his craft reserve, he'd be able to spend 1600 craft reserve at level 10 , which would typically require 40000 gold. I don't see it as terribly unbalancing.
Another aspect is that you'll often level in the middle of an adventure, with no chance to actually use your craft reserve except possibly on scrolls. Only through very careful planning ahead did I manage to use up all my craft reserve, and I still ended up with a truckload of scrolls.