FRONT & REAR Shock correction HELP! Self Leveling/Bilstein???

After sending another member a PM- they advised I post my questions on here to get advice from everyone-

I still have my 04, base av (however i too have done far too much to it- no thanks to this site)... i'm original owner, 110K miles.  I think I've reached the purchasing of new shocks... pretty positive I need front ones...  They're leaking some... squeaky... and has become rough- guessing rubber is gone/going.  If I come to a REALLY rough patch in road and am braking at same time, the truck doesn't want to maintain good contact with the road... sort of skips out- INCREDIBLY ROUGH/HARD ride then!  I did have F-keys installed years ago... I only have maybe 1.5 inch lift... but once in awhile on big dip I could hear it bottom out on shock.  I put Billsteins shocks on front (same that are on Z66), and the electric load bearing type that are on the earlier model avs on the rear (my base model didn't have these).  I think these are still ok- not leaking- but not sure.  Back has become rough/stiff and bouncing around also... again, could be the rubber.  I also put bags in the rear coils to off set heavy loads (wood/sod) if I carried that (but looking back this was redundant and not needed with the leveling shocks)... but haven't really carried anything of significance in years... so the air is kept at the minimum.

HERE ARE THE BIG QUESTIONS I NEED ASSISTANCE WITH:

I'm searching and searching on here... trying to see if I should go with Billsteins again on front (maybe a softer one- comfortable riding)?

Should I just get rid of F-keys? (I still have original keys- although I like the leveled look, I don't want it to bottom out again on the front shock, but am unclear on what is the correct shock or way to prevent this with F-keys).

I have another set of 03 electric rear shocks that were take offs due to that Av being lifted and these being sold to me.  
1.- Should I use these shocks at all... Do these 03 shocks actually work with my 2004 Av?  Are they safe/effective/Okay?  

2.-If I put on the leveling shocks I have, do I get rid of the bags, and let the coils work with the shocks or keep the bags on?

3.-If I get rid of those shocks... what kind would you recommend I go with for the rear?

Should I just take it all back to semi-stock... but with upgrade on shocks all the way around

Any help would be greatly appreciated... I'm close to    and it's not pretty...

At this point I'm needing some guidance.  Love the truck- that's why I've had it 10 years... just having some maintenance issues- back window molding cracking... brake light sticking on... etc etc.  These shock missteps may have been operator error.  I want to correct it.
 
Thanks,
TX

Years ago I talked to a good mechanic who told me about suspensions, not sure if the info still holds true but many posts and articles seem to me to still hold the basics to be true. He told me that springs controlled how far up and down you traveled and shocks controlled the number of times the suspension moved up and down from any road input. So his advice was if you sagged or bottomed out you concentrated on replacing or beefing up the springs. If you pogoed up and down a lot or had obvious shock damage then you replaced the shocks.
Just my .02 but I test drove z66, base model and Z71 editions of AVs in 2004 with my first AV and in 2008 with my second AV, I found that I liked the suspension of the Z71 that appeared to be firmer than base suspension but not overly harsh. The Z71 uses Bilstein shocks but I don't know if their rate is different from what you are using. Also the spring rates could be different too not to mention swaybars etc. I would have to guess if your electric rear shocks were leaking you would have a constantly running pump trying to keep them full of pressure?
I learned years ago with a Corvette to treat the suspension as one piece and get a well balanced kit that has shocks, springs, swaybars etc that are made to work together and not try to Frankenstein together a bunch of parts and trying to reinvent the wheel so to speak.
Good luck with your efforts.

This is what I was afraid of- I Frankenstein-ed it a bit.  These rear shocks were the electric (automatic ones, no air pump) like from early Av / Tahoe / Yukon / Suburban models. 

So that's why I'm still at same questions... scrap everything and go back to OEM (except upgraded shocks)?  What determines when/if springs need to be replaced?  Scrap the bags in the springs due to that making it much firmer and throwing off the ride, etc?  Scrap the F-keys? 

Just wanting opinions?  I know it's all a matter of what I want as well... just curious what others have found works/doesn't work... or are better parts, etc.

The Z66 has self levering shocks so it has softer leaf springs. Placing standard shocks gives it a wet sponge type of ride.You are stuck with buying the expensive ones but you can get the Monroe's for $300 a piece after tax with free shipping if you have Amazon prime. Even if you have a Z71 and it has self leveling shocks, I'm sure you are going to be in the same boat. Actually, it went up since I ordered mine  a week ago; was $247 before tax. Love my ride now.  

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JWMML4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1